Destruct
by ajaegerpilot
Summary: "Don't waste your time wondering if we would've been happy," Kuvira said. "I won't," Opal replied. "I already know the answer."
1. Chapter 1

**174 AG**

Opal and Kai headed back to their rooms mostly in silence. A family on the outskirts of town had two empty beds and Opal and Kai had been staying there. By the time the airbenders returned the sky above their heads had darkened to night and the house smelled like the food that the family hadn't had before the Great Uniter came to their town. There was still food left over but Opal didn't feel like eating. She thanked the owners and wished Kai goodnight before walking into her bedroom.

As she shut the door behind her, she caught one last glimpse of the family she was staying with. Dinner was long over, but they were still gathered around the kitchen table, laughing and smiling with a lightness the Air Nomads had failed to bring to them. Opal was glad that the town was safe from bandits, that the people were fed, but she couldn't help but worry about the methods used to achieve this peace. She fell onto the bed and wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the ceiling as it flickered in the candlelight.

She'd seen how hostile the Governor had been towards the Earth Kingdom's army, she didn't understand how he could change his mind so quickly. She'd seen fear and pride in the older man. While he was desperate for aid she had doubted he would bend to the Earth Kingdom's military. There were other factors at play here and Opal couldn't figure out what they were. The Governer seemed ashamed but stubborn; he wouldn't give her any answers.

It didn't matter, really. Opal and Kai would leave soon, their job here . . . had been nullified. Bolin had talked about a puzzle-styled map of the Earth Kingdom in one of his many letters to Opal. The State of Yi was just another piece fitting into the map. Opal wanted to believe in what the army was doing. Kai had looked at her dubiously when she'd told him this as they'd walked back to their temporary home.

_"Are you sure?" _he'd asked, frowning. "_You seem pretty . . . hostile towards the whole thing. I've actually never seen you so upset. It's not like they're doing anything bad, they're just helping people."_ Opal had still felt a little angry with him for convincing the governor to sign the treaty, but she bit down her feelings because she knew that she probably would've eventually convinced the governor to sign as well. She didn't trust the army, but she also couldn't compete with it.

_"So far,"_ had been her response. Still, she wanted to believe that it was all justified. It had been so nice to see Bolin again, to hold him after . . . after such a long time that she'd lost track. He'd looked happy working with the army, proud. She wanted her boyfriend to be on the right side. She knew Bolin enjoyed helping people as much as she did and he _was_ helping. He wasn't helping everyone he could, like the Air Nomads were, but at least when he tried he actually suceeded.

The Air Nomads on the other hand were still few and far between; new airbenders were still being discovered and all of them were still learning how to bend and do their jobs. Armies had drills but the Air Nomads had no such luxury. Not to mention that there were more problems than there were Air Nomads to solve them. The Air Nomads were still trying their best but it was undeniable that the Earth Kingdom's army had more resources.

And Bolin was confident in what he was doing; Opal had seen his smile as he'd handed out food to the people of Yi. He'd wrote to her multiple times on how much he loved his job. He was good at it, he was helping people, and his old neighbourhood had prospered from his involvement with the army and its commander.

Opal had a sneaking suspicion that if she made him choose between his job and his girlfriend . . . he wouldn't choose her. She couldn't blame him for that, it just meant that he believed in his people and his cause as much as she believed in hers. Still, even with Bolin's assurance, Opal couldn't help but doubt the army. She had already seen one family torn apart by the 'Great Uniter'.

On their travels together, Kai and Opal had grown to become close friends. He eventually had detailed his experience with the Earth Queen to her. He hadn't grown up in Ba Sing Se but he'd felt the far-reaching effects of the Queen's greed and neglect that Opal, who had lived in Zaofu her whole life, hadn't ever considered. When Kai had gone to Ba Sing Se with the Avatar he'd been kidnapped by a secret police force and been recruited against his will into an army composed of the new airbenders.

He'd been forced to live underground, training to fight in what was called the 'First Airbending Regimen' and he likely still would have been there if the Avatar hadn't freed him. Opal had a very opinionated mother that made sure Opal knew how brutal the Earth Queen had been. Kai's experience with the Queen only made her more irredeemable to Opal but her death had launched the nation into even more chaos.

The Kingdom had been badly broken by the revolt. Food was scarce and the only useful transport system, the train, had had to be rebuilt and was now controlled by the Kingdom. Opal had been sure that no one could be worse than the Earth Queen, and felt that at least the total anarchy that the revolution had caused wasn't so cold and systematic. People were violent and greedy but they could be fought without having to destroy entire countries.

But then again, Opal hadn't done the best job in fighting the bad guys. In their numbers, the best the Nomads could hope for was little victories. In the beginning they'd helped enough to be liked and respected across the kingdom, but recently things were changing. Opal and Kai would fly to towns to find their job already done, banners proudly flying, missing Bolin by mere days. The inevitable military presence, which Opal knew was put in place to protect the people in the towns they visited, alarmed her. The kingdom didn't look united, it looked conquered.

No one else but she and the Governor seemed to feel that way, and even he had changed his mind. When she saw the Army's symbol, something that reminded her unbearably of Zaofu, rise above the state she didn't just feel disappointed for having failed the people there. She felt helpless. She felt scared. The situation was becoming one where only the army could help people, and she knew that that had never been the purpose of armies.

Bolin had left before the sunset and they hadn't even said goodbye. Opal had avoided him, but she wondered if they'd have said goodbye if she hadn't. She couldn't know. There was a chance that they'd said goodbye the other day when she'd yelled at him to leave if he was going to leave. He had left, after all, and while Opal had mostly been lashing out at him she was worried that him leaving would have consequences later on.

All the same, on a sneaking, selfish level, she was glad he was gone. She didn't want to talk to him. She knew he'd noticed the tension between her and Kuvira and wanted to ask her about it. The two of them hadn't really talked much about her life in Zaofu. Honestly, there wasn't much to talk about, he would've loved to listen but whenever the conversation steered to their pasts he always had something more interesting to say. Opal was the daughter of Zaofu's matriarch and never wanted to waste time talking about such a privileged life.

Besides, Opal and Bolin had always been more interested in the future then the past. A future they would share with each other. Or . . . they had thought that they'd share a future. That idea was becoming more obscure in her mind. It was just the distance, she knew that. They both knew beforehand that long distance relationships weren't easy and agreed to work on it but . . . it had been over two years. Maybe making it that long had been a success in itself, but thinking about it now she saw a flaw in their plan.

She was . . . an Air Nomad. She was an Air Nomad now, she and others just like her were travelling the world, trying to fix injustices. Opal suspected that Kai and Jinora would travel with each other when they were older, and she'd heard Kai talking to Jinora's projection the other day. But Bolin, would he ever actually have a place in her life if she stayed an air nomad? Would she have a place in his?

Tenzin had travelled a lot, and his lovely wife Pema didn't mind staying at home and taking care of their children. Would that be a kind of life Bolin would be interested in? Opal flushed. She was too young to be thinking about children, she wasn't even sure that she wanted any. But it wasn't as though she couldn't imagine it happening some day. Bolin would make a great father and Opal, no, it was ridiculous to think like this. Bolin dreamt of domesticity, but he also craved adventure, he'd never be still and she couldn't blame him for that. Even now, Bolin was traveling. He was travelling with Kuvira.

Laying on her bed her thoughts had kept circling back to the older woman, stopping just shy of actually thinking about her. Alone with her thoughts, Opal couldn't escape her forever. Kuvira, the Great Uniter. She was to be . . . Opal's sister-in-law? Opal sat up on the bed and undid her Air Nomad uniform, getting ready for sleep. She'd known Kuvira back in Zaofu. Or, she'd thought she had. Kuvira was unrecognizable now.

It had been years since Opal had spoken to her properly. Kuvira had changed a lot since that time. But then, Opal thought she'd changed as well, hopefully for the better. She was happier, having a better sense of purpose. Kuvira seemed like she'd found her purpose as well, 'uniting' the Earth kingdom. But, she didn't seem happier. But then, they'd talked to each other for less than a minute, Opal could hardly judge from that.

At a glance, Kuvira seemed the same - enigmatic, serious, slightly amused at best. But now, she seemed more lethal. Her long braid wrapped in a bun, her sharp face made sharper with harsh expressions, Kuvira's entire presence was angular and authoritative. But she could make her voice smooth as ever, a gentle tone Opal had felt when she was younger was reserved only for her. She guessed Kuvira spoke to Opal's brother that way. If she did, Opal couldn't blame Baatar for following her.

But he wasn't just following her, he was marrying her. Baatar was marrying Kuvira."_You haven't heard?"_ Kuvira had asked, her voice light but her words were weighted. Thinking back on it Opal felt like Kuvira had been mocking her. _"Your brother and I are getting married."_ Opal's mind had blanked. Bolin tried, and failed, to diffuse the situation in the background. And suddenly Kuvira's hand was on Opal's shoulder. She hadn't touched her since . . . had Kuvira ever touched her like that?

Her mouth was in a gentle smile, not exactly sad but there was something else there. She seemed earnest, and her gaze on Opal felt soft. Opal refused to look at her, it felt too risky. _"I know things got heated with your family when Baatar and I left Zaofu,"_ Kuvira had murmured_. "But don't you think it's time to forgive, and forget?"_ And for a moment, with the feeling of Kuvira's warm hand on her shoulder, she'd wanted to.

The governer had interrupted them then, his voice coming snarling up from behind them. Opal and Kuvira had turned to look, and Kuvira's voice suddenly became very cold. Opal had looked after Kuvira, seeing someone she couldn't match up with the gentle, cajoling voice she'd heard seconds before. The Governer and Kuvira agreed to speak privately with each other. They did not come to an agreement but in the end he'd had no choice. He'd bowed to Kuvira and pledged his loyalty to her.

While she felt guilty for not succeeding in saving this town without anyone else's aid she felt even more confused about what had happened in those three years. She didn't understand why her brother had left Zaofu. She didn't know how Kuvira had risen from her position as guard captain in Zaofu to becoming the Earth Kingdom's interim president. She didn't know why Bolin was walking around with stiff, lifeless hair and speaking Kuvira's words. She didn't understand why, though they seemed to have the same cause, it felt like they were fighting against her. Without realizing it Opal had almost started crying. What had happened? Who had they all become?

These last three years, her mind had been darting around those questions. It was easier to do that when she there were hundreds of kilometres between her and the people she cared about. It wasn't so simple when she'd seen three of them in one day, and they all had turned away from her. When Opal finally fell asleep, tears sticking her hair to her cheeks, she dreamt about Zaofu. She wanted Bolin to be on the good side, but despite knowing better she wanted the same for Kuvira.


	2. Chapter 2

**169 AG**

When Opal first met Kuvira she was fourteen. Kuvira was around the age Opal was now, and just another guard in Zaofu. Opal tried her best to learn everyone's names so she could say hello, but it was easy not to notice a newcomer when the uniforms were identical and obscured everyone's faces. She might have seen Kuvira before, but she was unable to recall such an event even years later.

She had been sitting in front of the grand stage that her mother's dance recital was being held on. She sat strategically in the middle of the room where she had a good view but was far enough from the action to feel comfortable. From this distance she noticed an unfamiliar form dancing with her mother's troupe. Opal sat up higher in her seat and squinted, trying to get a better look.

"Her name is Kuvira," Aiwei spoke up from beside her. Opal looked at him, flushing. She must've really been staring. Suyin had succeeded in not only wrangling all her offspring into watching her dance recital, including Opal who had yet to miss a single performance, but she'd convince Aiwei and his partner to attend as well. "She's a guard," he explained.

"Oh," Opal said, glancing at the stranger again. Back then Kuvira wore her hair down her back in a long, thick braid, and even from a distance Opal had caught the mole beneath the woman's right eye. Opal normally didn't pay attention to faces of the dancers but this person always looked like she was biting back a grin. Everyone else had schooled expressions but Kuvira looked like she couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry, I've just . . . never seen her before," Opal explained.

"She's not a guard on the estate," Aiwei went on, content to relay all his knowledge. He watched the dancers with a slightly bored expression but he had come and they both knew Su appreciated it. "However, you probably have seen her around the city. It's just that people are rarely recognizable when they take their armour off." He was probably right.

Opal turned back to look at the stranger. She did seem vaguely familiar, and she had the right build for a guard. Not many of the dancers on her mother's troupe were guards, but a few were. Suyin taught some dance classes and held tryouts every few years or so. Kuvira was a little younger than the rest of the dancers, but not by much. Maybe it was the fact that she was new that made her seem different, less practiced but more passionate.

Opal leaned back in her seat and looked at her mother's advisor. He was watching the dance now with a little more interest. "When did she join?" Opal asked, if just to keep some conversation alive. Aiwei was kind of prickly, but she enjoyed talking with him when he did talk. "I haven't seen her around the estate."

"She's filling in for another dancer who injured her ankle," Aiwei explained. "And at this rate, she might replace her. She dances well." Opal looked at him with wide eyes, then back at Kuvira. The stranger moved like benders moved; she was in her element and she worked smoothly with everyone else. Her barely being able to stifle her smile made her even more enjoyable to watch.

"Yeah," Opal said, but she didn't really know anything about dancing. None of the Beifong kids could dance, much to Suyin's regret and not for a lack of trying. But even Opal could tell that Kuvira was an amazing dancer and that she pretty much stole the show. Opal had a feeling she would see Kuvira again if she knew anything about her mother.

When the recital finally concluded everyone applauded and the dancers bowed graciously. Suyin positively glowed with pride. Even though Opal couldn't care less about dancing this was why she'd always attend. Her mom's happiness was something that would make the whole show worth it even if Suyin somehow didn't always design something worth watching. Opal always loved the recitals.

A short-haired dancer tossed the newcomer a bottle of water and grinned at her. Seeing this, Suyin seemed to remember something. Stepping up to the front of the stage she smiled at her audience. "Thank you, everyone," she said. Wing and Wei hooted in the audience and Suyin laughed. When the smatterings of chuckled abated she spoke again. "Thank you, for being an amazing audience. Unfortunately, one of our dancers was injured. She's fine, and will always have a spot on our troupe. But, I would also like to thank our _new_ dancer, Kuvira, for stepping up and filling in for her. So, please, a round of applause."

Kuvira grinned, flushed and sweating under the spotlight. The dancer that had tossed her the bottle pulled at her arm laughing as everyone applauded. Opal clapped until her hands stung. Suyin thanked everyone again and they piled out of the theatre. Opal remembered how Kuvira's smile was still fresh in her mind as she left the theatre. Palms still tingling, she could remember hoping that she would see her again.

And she did.

Suyin's studio was on the opposite side of the estate from where Opal usually spent her time. The weather in Zaofu was nice almost all year round and Opal preferred reading outside. She rarely hung around the dance studio though so while she knew Kuvira was there she never sought her out. In fact, when she did meet Kuvira again, truly meeting her, she didn't recognize her at all.

Opal had been coming back from the kitchens and was rounding a corner when she caught sight of a strange face. It was unusual for there to be a new guard on the estate, so she looked at Kuvira in confusion and wondered why the stranger looked so familiar. While Opal had been staring at Kuvira, trying to remember her, she accidentally made eye contact with the guard.

"Do I have something on my face?" Kuvira asked in her deep, throaty voice. Opal realized at that moment who she was.

"Ah, no," Opal said, clasping her hands in front of her in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering I knew you or not."

"I'm Kuvira," the guard said, smiling lightly.

"Oh, I know," Opal said. She blushed when she realized what she said. "I mean - I -"

"Suyin's advisor must have told you," Kuvira inferred. Opal blushed burned hotter. "It's fine; I know who you are." Kuvira would've been a pretty terrible guard if she didn't know who Opal was, so while the nonbender appreciated the sentiment it didn't really apply.

"I - uh -" Opal fumbled, feeling too embarrassed to look Kuvira in the eye.

"I saw you in the audience once," Kuvira said, taking pity on Opal's awkwardness. "At one of the performances." Opal had seen Kuvira at other recitals as well, and suddenly felt worried that Kuvira had noticed her staring. Kuvira had noticed her.

"Yeah," Opal said, looking up again. She was surprised that Kuvira could pick her out of the crowd, Beifong or not. "I always go to my mother's recitals."

"Do you dance as well?" Kuvira asked, seeming interested.

"Oh," Opal mumbled, blushing viciously. "I'm not a dancer. None of us are. Dad says that mom kept all the talent for herself." She laughed awkwardly.

"Have you ever bothered being taught?" Kuvira asked. She was making conversation.

"No," Opal said, standing up straight. "Mom tried, when I was younger. It was - a mess."

"Maybe you just didn't find the right teacher," Kuvira suggested, smiling softly. Opal had always had the best teachers, and she still couldn't dance. She shrugged.

"You like dancing," she observed, still a little nervous.

Kuvira grinned. "That's a fair observation," she said. A little conspiratorially she murmured, "It's my favourite hobby, next to bending. It's similar to bending, actually. It's listening to your body and finding a rhythm. From there, you can only get better."

"I can't bend yet," Opal murmured, smoothing down her dress.

"Ah," Kuvira said, leaning back and looking regretful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean . . ."

"Oh!" Opal said. "No, that's okay, you can talk about bending." She smiled at Kuvira. "But I, mean I guess I better let you get back to your duties anyway." She didn't want to bully Kuvira into talking to her but she was young and couldn't help but be greedy. "I didn't know you were a guard here."

"I started yesterday," Kuvira said. "To be honest, the reason Suyin brought me to work on her estate was mostly to cut down on commuting time to dance rehearsal." Opal laughed.

"I'll see you," she said, starting to move on. She wanted to stop talking to Kuvira before she said something wrong. So far, the dancer had been really nice.

"Goodbye, Opal," Kuvira said. Opal continued back to her room with the new knowledge that Kuvira was now an actual guard at the Beifong estate. Suyin had apparently grown to trust her the way she made sure she trusted all of the guards that worked directly for her. And Kuvira had been nice; friendly and funny and genuine, and this perfection intimidated Opal in the best possible way.

**174 AG**

Opal wondered now if it had been an act even back then. She knew, in her heart, that it hadn't been but Opal felt depressed and grim. Somewhere along the lines Opal had stirred from her dreams and was lying on the bed, not asleep but not awake. The sun was falling though the window and the warmth that hit her bare skin was hardly comforting.

Towards the end . . . before the Red Lotus had destroyed the Earth Kingdom . . . she and Kuvira had almost been friends. She'd looked up to the woman with a sort of pathetic pet-like admiration that made her ashamed now. She was ashamed that she didn't see who Kuvira was, but, thinking about it she couldn't really blame herself for that, or even Kuvira. Kuvira had seemed so genuine back then; she was a completely different person now and Opal felt like she'd lost someone.

Opal surveyed the noon light on the ceiling. She didn't normally sleep in so late. Sleeping too much made her feel groggy and useless, but she was already useless and the dead-mouthed depression that came with her grogginess felt almost justified. She heard some clattering in the kitchen outside her room, some low voices brushing against each other. She listened to the noises and pitied herself.

"Hey Opal!" Kai's voice was muffled behind the door. Opal snapped out of her thoughts and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?" she mumbled, voice thick from sleep.

"Someone's here to see you," he said. He sounded tense.

"Who is it?" Opal asked, wrapping her blankets around herself. The door opened and Opal's heartbeat stuttered. Kuvira walked into the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**170 AG**

Peering through the window Opal could see the reflections of orange candlelight against the gloss of metal. She was sitting on a windowsill in a rarely traversed corridor on the estate. She'd crept away from the party and was effectively hiding from her mother. She had a book in her hands but felt too guilty to read it.

She couldn't really see the partygoers from this angle and height above the grounds, but she knew that they had probably noticed her absence; it was her birthday after all. Opal didn't like parties that much. Every year she'd bear with it but this year, maybe with some sort of newfound fifteen-year-old rebelliousness, she'd decided to leave early. Her mother hadn't noticed yet.

What had made this birthday less than bearable then ones in the past was the fact that Suyin had invited several boys that Opal decidedly hadn't. It wasn't that her mother was trying to set her up with citizens she'd deemed worthy, but it wasn't as though she would protest if Opal turned out to like one of them. Her mother had circulated around the party, glowing as usual, every now and then stopping to look at her daughter with wide eyes while jerking her head at various boys Opal's age. It was kind of embarrassing, even though no one else really noticed. Beifongs weren't known for their subtly, at least amongst themselves. There wasn't any pressure on Opal to go along with it but it was still too much to deal with. She took a book and the easy way out.

Embarassment aside, what had forced Opal to flee was that her mother expected Opal to dance with the boys she'd invited. Dancing wouldn't have been a big deal, if Opal could actually dance. Opal couldn't dance to save her life. It wasn't that she was clumsy but she was too timid to properly move with another person. She was too afraid of dancing poorly to dance well, and since she didn't want to embarrass herself she avoided dancing altogether which _guaranteed_ that she wouldn't improve.

She was grateful when Wing accidentally bumped into and knocked over Huan's delicate yet disturbing sculpture, and she took the ensuing drama as her chance to slip away. Most of the guards had the night off for Opal's birthday and it worked in Opal's favour now. She crept off with relative ease since only a few people were still on duty. Even from up here she could hear the boisterous laughter of a few of the tipsier guards. It made her smile.

Still, she wondered if it was worth it. Her mother wouldn't bring it up but she'd probably sulk a little over breakfast. Whether she'd try to pull the same thing next year Opal really couldn't say for sure. They were all nice boys, kind of. They were all from Zaofu, not necessarily wealthy, not necessarily poor. All were talented and ambitious, and she'd seen them around and talked to most of them. But honestly, choosing between them and a good book? No contest.

Opal opened her novel and set it in her lap, creasing the pages flat and staring. She still felt kind of guilty. Her mother had probably noticed her absence by now and Opal could only hope that she hadn't made her worry. Sneaking away really hadn't been worth the trouble. Opal sighed out loud.

"So this is where you've been hiding," a voice, rich with a grin, spoke up from behind Opal. Opal turned around, fear squeezing her throat, but when she recognized the person walking towards her it let go.

"I'm not hiding," Opal mumbled, a little embarrassed. "I'm just . . . taking a break."

"Long break," Kuvira smirked a little. She was wearing her guard's uniform, but she'd taken off her helmet. It was dark in this corridor other than a small lamp Opal had lit up to keep her company. She didn't want to attract too much attention, but obviously it gave off enough light for Kuvira to find her. The reflection of flame in the lamp flickered in the guard's eyes.

"Are people looking for me?" Opal asked guiltily.

"Just me," Kuvira assured her. "Your mother just wanted me to check up on you and bring you back." Opal nodded. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards her mother because she knew that Suyin wouldn't try this again next year.

She meant well; she wanted Opal to find someone in Zaofu and Opal ideally wanted that as well but she'd probably read too many books. They left her longing for something big. She didn't need to leave home to have an adventure but she at least wanted the adventure of falling in love. Regardless of her intentions, her mother's interference would just spoil any potential for honest romance. Judging by her reaction tonight Suyin had realized this. She still wanted Opal to come back to the party though, which was completely understandable and fair but Opal didn't want to go back just yet. Kuvira seemed to notice this.

"Nice spot," the metalbender began conversationally. Opal nodded meekly, taking it as permission to stay awhile. Kuvira claimed the seat across from the window, propping her legs up on the sill next to where Opal was sitting. She rested her helmet in her lap and turned her head to look idly out the window into the night.

Kuvira seemed to be one of the few guards that hadn't been given a night off. In the time between meeting Kuvira and Opal's birthday Kuvira had gotten higher and higher prestige in the Beifong household. Kuvira was still a dancer on Suyin's troupe, getting more polished by the day. Between being a guard and rehearsing dancing, she and Opal had run into each other more often.

Opal tried to be friendly with all the guards but she wanted something more with Kuvira. She didn't seek Kuvira out or anything, but she had to admit she didn't avoid her and she felt like they'd actually built . . . something. That something being the fact that Opal enjoyed running into Kuvira and Kuvira didn't seem annoyed by it.

Opal liked herself and who she was becoming, but she also really looked up to Kuvira and Kuvira was a lot of things Opal was not. Kuvira was down-to-earth but also impossibly refined and talented. Opal couldn't help but admire her.

If there was one trait that allowed you to flourish in Zaofu it was the determination to improve for the sake of yourself and Kuvira was no exception. Suyin trusted Kuvira enough to find her daughter on the estate, and Suyin prided herself on knowing her people. Realistically, Kuvira probably had flaws but Opal hadn't found any evidence so far.

"How old are you this year, Opal?" Kuvira asked, speaking up all of a sudden.

"I'm -" Opal's voice skipped. She tried again, making her voice stronger. "I'm, fifteen." She wavered on the last syllable and Kuvira chuckled.

"Any particular reason you left your fifteenth birthday party?" she asked.

"Ugh," Opal mumbled, putting her hands over her burning cheeks. "My mom wanted to me to dance with some boys."

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen so many new faces at the estate before," Kuvira mused.

"That would be why," Opal sighed.

"It can't be that bad," Kuvira said. "Some boys are nice." Opal must have made a weird face because Kuvira laughed. "It's true," she insisted. "They're rare, and you're rarely introduced to them by your mother, but they're out there."

"Yeah," Opal said, eyes wide. "Every single one of them. In the courtyard." Kuvira grinned. "I don't even _know_ most of them," Opal went on. "I've seen them around but . . . I don't even know some of their names. I mean, I can appreciate what my mom is doing but . . ." her voice trailed off. "I'm really an awful dancer."

"That's the problem?" Kuvira asked. Opal shrugged. "I could teach you," Kuvira offered. "I'm nowhere near as good as your mother, but I can dance pretty well." Opal knew that.

"Oh no," Opal said, cheeks burning. "You don't have to." Kuvira only got more insistent.

"I want to," she said. "No one learns better than the teacher, you'd be doing me a favour." Opal shook her head, almost chuckling. No way was she dancing in front of someone as cool as Kuvira, even if Kuvira actually wanted her to. "I'm sure you're not that bad."

"Oh," Opal said, choking. "I am that bad, believe me." She caught Kuvira's eye and said decidedly, "Anyway, I really don't feel like embarrassing myself in front of anyone on my birthday." Kuvira grinned.

"Suit yourself," she said. "Some other time?"

"No way," Opal said. "Maybe." Kuvira laughed.

In a more serious voice she said, "I'm sure that if the boys at the party passed your mother's inspection they wouldn't mind being turned down for a dance anyway. Maybe you can head down, make some new friends." Opal didn't want to say that she'd rather spend her time with Kuvira because she still wanted to sound like she was totally in control of her feelings here. It was obvious at least that she'd rather sit in the dark with a book then dance with some boys.

"This is the last book in a series," she shrugged, holding it up and pouting a little. Kuvira chuckled.

"Would you rather she invited girls for you to dance with?" she asked. Opal was sure she'd misheard her.

"You mean my friends?" Opal asked. To be completely honest Opal didn't have many friends of any gender, but she did have more female friends. Kuvira raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what?" she blurted after Kuvira didn't say anything. Kuvira only smiled at her and waited.

"I . . ." Opal hadn't even realized that it was an option. But it was a fair proposal and Opal sat back and thought about it for a moment. "No," she said at last. "Being with my friends is fine, but if there's going to be romance . . . I want to at least pretend that it was my own idea."

"Fair enough," Kuvira said. "But from what I've heard about love, it's never really your idea in the first place." Opal was a romantic even while she knew nothing about love itself. Kuvira seemed to be choosing her words in a way to dart around the topic as well.

"Have you ever been in love?" Opal asked. She regretted asking something so personal but while Kuvira seemed surprised she didn't look offended.

"Probably not," the guard said after a moment. "I'm probably not the best person to give you advice in this area." Kuvira's fringe fell over her eyes and she looked down at the floor, one arm slung around the chair's arm. The light given off by the lamp flickered on her serious face. The warm air pooled into the room and Opal could swear she felt a breeze.

She turned her gaze from the guard and looked out the window, down on the twinkling lights of the party. Opal liked Kuvira giving her advice but she didn't know how to say that. She heard laughter down below. The party went on as she and Kuvira sat in silence. "I still can't bend," she said in an almost inaudible voice.

Opal saw Kuvira look up in her peripheral vision. "There were rumours," she trailed off. People had suspected, just like Opal had, that she would never be able to bend. Opal had heard the rumours as well.

"I thought maybe when I turned fifteen I'd finally be able to," Opal said, opening her palms to the ceiling. "But it doesn't seem like it ever will."

Kuvira watched Opal for awhile then remarked shrewdly, "You don't seem too torn up about it."

Opal bit her lip. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell Kuvira. "Do you remember Amon? From Republic City."

"You mean Noatak, son of the crime lord Yakone?" Kuvira asked. Another rumour spreading around was that Kuvira was poised for the position of guard captain in Zaofu. Opal didn't doubt it.

"Yeah," she said. "I know Avatar Korra was against the Equalists but . . . I really thought the nonbenders were justified with what they were doing. I - I understand that benders have a - special bond with their ability, and Noatak shouldn't have taken it away from them, but it's not as though the benders in Republic City could handle not abusing their power over nonbenders."

"I know there's a nonbender president now," she sighed. "But having a nonbending leader doesn't sound like it would be enough to fix everything." Opal had never been hurt a day in her life but she knew from observation that when people could get power from hurting weaker people it was a tough drug to quit. "He's visited Zaofu a few times."

"I know," Kuvira said. "He seems like someone so pleased to find himself in his position that he'll forget to fight for those who aren't." Opal nodded, Kuvira had described her thoughts exactly. Opal respected him as a nonbender who against all odds had gotten elected by a bender-majority but she couldn't trust him. He seemed too polished to protect people when they needed protecting. You could be diplomatic in ways that went beyond official visits.

Opal self-consciously played with a metal bracelet and went on as Kuvira politely heard her out. "It's obvious that people who can't bend are at a disadvantage to people who can bend but . . . there's so much of an emphasis on the benefits of bending that people don't see the problems it can cause. I'm not saying I was ever hurt like the people in Republic City were," Opal said, cheeks flushed. "But I guess . . . I'm glad I'm not a bender."

She glanced at Kuvira whose face was composed but alert, listening. "If I was a bender," Opal explained. "I wouldn't have cared about what was going on in Republic City. At the time people would be talking about how they should just put all the nonbenders in jail and then I'd walk into the room. They'd stop, but only because I'm Suyin Beifong's daughter. I'm glad I can't bend because if I could I would've been just like them."

She pressed her fingers to burning her cheeks and looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the party beyond the lit orbs of light, determined not to look at Kuvira. She'd just wanted to read her book, she hadn't intended on ranting about bender-nonbender politics. The young woman remained unmoving in Opal's vision. "You wouldn't have been like them," Kuvira said, voice sounding sure. "You still would've cared, Opal. It's who you are."

Opal looked back at Kuvira who was watching her softly, gaze flickering in the candlelight. "Maybe it would've taken you longer, but you would've gotten there eventually." Her voice was gentle and her expression was almost sad. "Preferring understanding people's suffering over bending is something very noble. Something rare. You're a good person, Opal."

Opal looked down at her lap. "Thanks," she murmured. She could hardly breathe.

Kuvira looked thoughtfully up at Opal, setting her legs on the floor and leaning forward. "Did you get any gifts you liked tonight?" Opal was grateful for the lighter topic.

"I didn't look at them yet," Opal said. "I'll probably like them all."

"What kind of gift would you really like?" Kuvira asked playfully, ushering the conversation along in lighter direction. Opal was thankful.

"I don't really need anything," she replied.

"None of us really need anything in Zaofu," Kuvira coaxed. "So come on. What would you like?" Opal smiled.

"Honestly?" she asked. Kuvira nodded. "I'd like to go out of Zaofu for awhile," she shrugged. It was a bit of a boring wish but it was the truth. "It's tradition in my family to go on a hike a couple of times a year, but no one wants to hike out with me otherwise. They wouldn't let me hike alone and I'd feel guilty to make a guard come with me."

"You want to go hiking?" Kuvira asked.

"It's the only time I've ever been outside Zaofu," she said. "I'm just . . . curious. I want to know what it's like out there. I don't need to go to another city but I'd like to explore a little. I can see why they wouldn't let me go alone though. Since I really can't bend, I really am . . ." Opal swallowed and didn't finish her own sentence.

Kuvira seemed dissatisfied that Opal was getting distracted and sad with her own vulnerability. "I'll take you out of Zaofu sometime," she said. "How's that?" Opal felt kind of awkwardly happy and grinned in response. Kuvira got to her feet, stretching a little. "Want to head back to the party?" she asked, eyes soft on Opal.

"Alright," Opal said. She forgot the book on the windowsill when she left to rejoin the party. No one but Suyin and perhaps Aiwei had noticed her absence. Kuvira patrolled the grounds and Opal danced, badly, with a friend on Suyin's troupe. The next morning Opal's book had been returned to her, resting on her pillow. Opal finished it in one sitting.


	4. Chapter 4

**174 AG**

"I couldn't just leave with you still angry with me," Kuvira said, pacing into Opal's bedroom. Opal was only wearing her undershirt and a blanket but Kuvira didn't look. Instead she walked over to the window and opened it, almost like she was putting her own personal touch on something that had been Opal's for the past few days.

"We're going to be family soon," Kuvira said, turning her head to look at the airbender. Her dark green eyes caught the light and Opal had to glance away, tugging the blanket closer around her. She was still wearing her undershirt but even with that and the blanket Opal felt naked. "So I want us to be on at least civil terms when Baatar and I marry."

This was all too invasive and sterilized. Opal hated it, but she didn't let it show. "I'm not angry with you," she said, getting off the bed, her blanket sliding to drape around her waist. "I don't trust you. There's a difference."

Kuvira looked at her. "I don't think in this case there is any." Opal flushed.

"Turn around," she barked, holding up her Air Nomad bodysuit. Kuvira turned around, crossing her arms behind her back so each hand clasped on her opposite elbow. Opal's sleepy self-pity was boiling into righteous anger that woke her up and made her anxious and sick.

And yes, she was angry. Kuvira, and probably anyone, could see that easily. Opal couldn't help it. She hid her shaking hands as she stepped into her suit and zipped it up. Kuvira was right. Opal was pissed that she couldn't trust whoever the hell this was. She wasn't mad for the sake of being mad and her anger didn't mean her distrust was inauthentic or unjustified.

"Where's Bolin," she asked, trying to keep her voice controlled but it just came off edgy.

Kuvira sighed. "He and Baatar are travelling to the next town to replenish supplies. I came here with my own train car. I won't stay long, but I'd like to talk." She frowned. "If that's alright," she added with a softer voice.

Opal looked at her, and sat on the bed, resting her elbows on her knees. "I guess," she said, but she didn't speak any more. She fiddled with her hair self-consciously as she waited for Kuvira to speak.

"It's been a long three years," Kuvira began. "A lot has changed."

"I'll say," Opal snorted.

"Opal, please," Kuvira said. Glancing up at the taller woman Opal saw that Kuvira looked genuinely distressed. Kuvira didn't speak for awhile, instead she slid off her gloves and placed them in a pocket on her uniform. When Opal finally began to look away Kuvira chose to start speaking.

"When I left Zaofu I was angry," she confessed. "I was angry at your mother. I guess I still am. This job, uniting the people in our land, it shouldn't have been mine. She almost single-handedly created Zaofu, a city where every single citizen can do more than just survive, but can attain their greatest potential. When the monarchy fell I was, and so many other people were, convinced that your mother would step up and lead us."

"She didn't want to seize power, like you did," Opal said, getting to her feet, prepared to fight for her mother. Kuvira didn't go on the defensive.

"I'm only the interim president until Prince Wu comes of age," Kuvira reminded her. "Which isn't that long now." Opal's face made it clear that she wasn't buying everything Kuvira was selling. Kuvira went on, "Besides, assuming I did seize power, if it wasn't me someone else would have. And their goals would not have been as benevolent as mine are."

Opal knew that someone else would've seized power but Kuvira was being deliberately vague underneath her inspiring rhetoric. "What are your goals?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"I want all of us to be united," Kuvira said softly, walking over to Opal and keeping eye contact with her. "All of us. I want to give every Earth citizen the opportunities you and I had. I can't do that right now, just as the Air Nomads can't help every single person right now. All we can do at the moment is make sure that our people are safe and fed, but eventually I plan to do better than that."

"And I know it may not seem like it," she went on. "But I need your help for this. The next few months are going to be like nothing we've ever dealt with before. Other countries and nations, people who did nothing to help this country in the years after the revolution, will want to interfere with the Earth Nation. These people could damage us just as surely as the Earth Queen did."

"Are you asking me to pledge my loyalty?" Opal asked through gritted teeth.

"No, Opal," Kuvira said. "I'm asking you, for these next few months, to really think what you want for this country. Even if you're an Air Nomad now, it should be just as important to you that things here are stable so that we all can _live_, instead of just survive."

"And I want," Kuvira said. "I do, really, want you on my side. I know you believe, like your mother, that I seized power for selfish reasons. All I want is to give our people security and progress, if they didn't want me to do it I wouldn't be here right now."

"I don't think they have as much of a choice as you say they do," Opal said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I heard you're putting your dissenters in prison camps." Kuvira's jaw dropped in shock.

"Opal!" she said, eyes flashing with hurt. "Those rumours aren't true! I know a lot has changed in the three years we didn't see each other but they haven't changed _that_ much." Opal felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't seen any evidence of prison camps after all, maybe Kai was right and Opal was overreacting.

It didn't matter. Kuvira had placed her hands on either side of Opal's body, coaxing her attention back to the metalbender. "Listen, in the end - I want what you want. We have to make sure that, despite whatever happens next, we fight for our people. The way I came into power may have been unorthodox, and I didn't believe I was the best person to do it at the time, but I made it my job, my duty, to fight for the needs of the people. I want to go beyond those needs some day."

Her hands squeezed Opal's upper arms reassuringly. Opal didn't know if she'd ever seen Kuvira not wearing some type of glove, or bandage binding. Her palms were soft and warm on the fabric of Opal's suit. Her eyes were bright and focused on Opal. Opal suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia, the same feeling she'd fought back when she and Kuvira had seen each other again.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Opal asked, voice wavering dubiously.

"Yes," Kuvira said, softly but insistently. "Absolutely. I know Suyin, and the Air Nomads, have their own biases just like I do. I blamed Suyin for not assuming a position she didn't want, and her son left her to follow me. There isn't an airbender in my army, that I know of, so I'm sure you've heard more rumours than facts. I'm just glad you gave me this chance to explain myself." Opal nodded at Kuvira, looking her in the eye.

"And Opal, the other reason why I came." Kuvira smiled at her, body relaxed now. "The wedding - I'd love for you to attend." Oh, that was right. Kuvira was engaged to Baatar.

"Of course I'd come to Baatar's wedding," Opal said, her voice punched out of her. Kuvira took no notice. She put her hand on Opal's cheek and smiled at her, the smooth, uncalloused skin burning Opal's cheeks. In the pit of her stomach Opal felt disappointment grow like a retch. Kuvira had never touched her like this, so warmly and so calculatedly.

"Thank you, Opal," Kuvira said, face softening with sincerity.

"You're manipulating me," Opal realized out loud, trying to remind herself more than anything. Kuvira smudged her thumb across Opal's cheek, and Opal could feel a blush burning wherever she touched. Opal's legs felt like they would give out. Kuvira's expression was still soft, her eyes darting across Opal's face like she was memorizing it.

"No, Opal, I really do want you to come," she said with her gravelly voice. She moved closer to Opal, her free hand landing lightly on Opal's hip, barely touching her. She waited until Opal would look her in the eye and then smiled a little, eyes wide and earnest, but entirely too calm. Kuvira was imitating herself so perfectly that Opal wanted to sob.

"You're manipulating my brother," she said fiercely, ripping Kuvira's hand from her cheek and gritting her teeth. "You're manipulating my family, my kingdom, you're manipulating my boyfriend." Kuvira's face soured, and she stepped back from Opal. Opal almost stumbled but caught herself; she looked after Kuvira in desperation.

"Believe what you want," Kuvira said, breaking character. Her tone was venomous. "I'm doing what I think is best for the kingdom, we all are. And don't tell me you believe that the Earth Kingdom is your kingdom." Opal gaped at her Kuvira turned around, almost smirking at her silence.

Kuvira suddenly changed pace, haughtiness turning into anger. "I wish you and the other Air Nomads well - patching bandages on a gaping wound, but I'm performing surgery. I don't have time for silly games; I don't have time for manipulation. So believe what you want, Opal."

Then she broke off, her voice softer, regretful. "I only wish you would find it in you to forgive me, for whatever wrong I committed." She turned to go. Opal knew enough to see that wasn't how you asked for an apology. Kuvira's soft words had confused Opal, and her about-turn gave her whiplash but she wasn't about to back down.

"I still don't trust you," she spat after Kuvira. "I don't trust who you are. I don't know if I never knew exactly who you were but now I _know_ I have no idea."

Kuvira whirled around, furious and frustrated, "Then why do you assume the worst of me? Do you have any evidence that I'm doing anything wrong? I'm uniting the kingdom; I'm bringing people food, and protection -"

"Only when they pledge their loyalty to you!" Opal yelled.

"We don't have the resources to give supplies to anyone but our people," Kuvira responded, a practiced lie.

"Why are you saying 'we'?" Opal said. Kuvira's mouth opened, then shut. "When you get people to pledge their loyalty - they don't pledge their loyalty to the Earth Kingdom. They don't pledge their loyalty to Prince Wu. They pledge their loyalty to _you."_

"I'm the interim president," Kuvira said, attempting to recover herself.

"Don't," Opal said, and to her dismay her voice broke. Kuvira's mouth closed and she watched Opal, who was struggling to hold back tears. Opal took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady, though her hands were trembling. "I didn't know you before, if you always were who you are now. But I - I don't think you ever lied to me."

Kuvira's expression changed. It was soft, but not schooled. She walked up to Opal again, hands behind her back. "What do you want to know?" she asked in a breath of defeat. She stood in Opal's bedroom, looking her in the eye, simply waiting for her response.

"I want to know," Opal said, and the whole world rested on her tongue. She knew for that moment, she could ask Kuvira anything and get the right answer. "I want to know," she said again. "Do you love my brother? Are you in love?"

Kuvira blinked. She hadn't expected that question either. Kuvira stood up straight and seemed to think for a moment. The fact that thinking was required already gave Opal the answer, but she couldn't help but hold her breath.

At last Kuvira looked back at Opal. "I'm not in love with Baatar," she said. Opal's legs knocked together.

"But you're marrying him," Opal said numbly. "He loves you, why else would he . . . " she couldn't go on.

"Perhaps he does love me," Kuvira conceded. "He knows that those feelings aren't reciprocated. He understands, at least."

"Understands what?" Opal said, her eyes were wet with angry tears. "Why would he stay with someone who doesn't love him back?"

Kuvira smiled a little then, the unfamiliar edge of her that Opal hated coming back. "He loves this country," she said. "Just like I do. He wants to take care of it, not just so that the kingdom can survive, but so that it can grow. That's the philosophy we grew up on in Zaofu. Your own mother, even though I'm sure she hates me now, was the person who instilled that value so strongly in me, _and_ your brother."

Kuvira frowned then. "Your mother resents the fact that he left Zaofu, leaving engineering behind. She saw it as a betrayal. But Baatar has progressed beyond architecture schematics. As much as I love Zaofu, and no matter how much I owe to it, the Earth Kingdom takes precedence. The nation couldn't just right itself. Riots in the streets, thievery, chaos. I couldn't ignore that, and neither could Baatar."

"I didn't ignore that!" Opal broke out. "The Air Nomads didn't! And we never needed to force anyone join us before we would help them!"

Kuvira's voice softened, making Opal feel ridiculous for yelling, "And perhaps you could have done something, if there weren't so few of you. But I'm the only one who can pull all these states together. And if we're not united we'll never survive, much less grow. I really do want what you want, Opal." Opal stiffened when Kuvira murmured her name. "We might have different ways of going about it, and you might be angry that Baatar left, but he's a grown man and he has that right."

"Our end goals are the safety and comfort of as many people as we can help," Kuvira said. "And I want to thank you and Kai for convincing the Governor to join us. We should be working together, the big picture is much more important than whatever happened in the past."

Opal felt like Kuvira was trying too hard to move on from the topic. She'd just admitted that she wasn't in love with Baatar, and had come no closer to explaining why Baatar had made the decisions that he had. Some of the stuff she said had made sense, but other things felt like lies. Opal guessed that Kuvira's moment of honesty had been real, but temporary.

Opal had been given one question to ask and Kuvira had answered it. All the rest were evasions at best. Kuvira was standing in Opal's bedroom, the first soft bed Opal had slept on in months, just looking at her and willing her to surrender. Opal wanted more questions answered, she'd only been granted one and she'd wasted it.

Kuvira had grown somewhat impatient in Opal's silence. "Are you happy, now?" she asked, hovering there, almost exasperated. Opal glanced up at Kuvira, meeting her gaze willingly for the first time in a long time. So much had been said, but none of it had gotten Opal closer to any answers. She felt sick.

"Of course not," Opal said. "But it doesn't matter." Kuvira's face twitched.

"Right," she said.

Opal's legs gave out as she sat down on the bed. "Do you still want me to attend the wedding?" she asked, almost spitefully.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, Opal," Kuvira said, fishing her gloves out of her pockets. She shut the door on the way out far too gently. Opal felt like she should cry, but she didn't. She and Kai spent the rest of the morning saying their thanks and goodbyes, and left Yi not long after Kuvira did.


	5. Chapter 5

**174 AG**

"So," Kai said awkwardly. "You and Kuvira." An innocent enough statement; Opal's fingers tightened around Lefty's reins. "What happened there?" he asked.

In all honesty, Opal had been thinking about little else for the past few days. She hadn't been coming up with a lot of answers and that was largely due to the fact that she didn't really want to think about Kuvira and their relationship. She also didn't really want to talk about it but there was nothing else to do during her and Kai's long trek back to Air Temple Island. She bit her lip.

"So you know how Kuvira was the captain of the city's guard back in Zaofu," she said. Kai nodded. "My mother has a dance troupe back in Zaofu, and when Kuvira was around my age, she joined that troupe. She became a guard on our estate, and she eventually became the captain. I knew her from seeing her around the city and the estate. I never would've guessed that any of this would happen."

"When the Earth Kingdom fell," Opal went on. "Everyone wanted my mom to take charge, to unify the Earth Kingdom. So did Kuvira. My mom refused and Kuvira just . . . something changed. She and my brother started plotting, and eventually they left Zaofu. I was with the Air Nomads when this all was happening," she explained. "So I don't know the exact details but this is what my brothers told me."

Kai listened to her carefully even though Opal was probably saying stuff he already knew. "Kuvira successfully gained control of Ba Sing Se and well, the rest is history," she concluded. "I don't know why she's acting like this; she's not at all like who I used to know."

"That was kind of my question, anyway," Kai said. Opal looked at him guiltily. Had she been avoiding answering his question? She'd laid out their background without really saying anything. Owing Kai a better response, she thought back to who Kuvira used to be back in Zaofu.

"My mom was really proud of Kuvira and kind of took her in as a protégé," she explained. "Some people wondered if Kuvira would someday take over Zaofu after my mother. It was just rumours, nothing official, and my mother never told any of us back then and I doubt she'd tell me now."

Without prompting, Suyin wouldn't tell Opal if she had planned on Kuvira taking her place eventually. There would be no reason to bring it up now; Opal felt like Suyin would be too ashamed and hurt. She knew how her mother had repressed her angry and resentful feelings towards her sister to the point where they physically fought each other when they saw each other again. Kuvira disobeyed Suyin's orders, rejected her position at Zaofu, and took her son; Opal could tell it was just as personal.

All the same, everyone had expected Kuvira to take over some day, or at least Opal had. Suyin's hair had greyed, but she definitely wasn't going to give up her position anytime soon. While she'd never wanted to control an entire nation, Zaofu was definitely hers. While there was no apparent heir at the time, or even now, people had wondered.

Next to Kuvira, people had speculated that Baatar, the eldest, and even that Opal, the only daughter to a matriarch, would take over as ruler. However, neither Baatar nor Opal, while they'd never really spoken about it with each other, assumed they would ever lead Zaofu. Opal hadn't wanted to, but perhaps Baatar had.

"I wonder if that's why my brother left," she murmured. "He's the oldest but he knew he'd never get to run Zaofu. That would go against Zaofu's principles anyway, we're not a monarchy, but people wondered if my mom would play favourites because we're not a democracy either. Mom wouldn't play favourites, though, she always treated Kuvira very professionally."

"Maybe _that's_ why Kuvira left," Kai suggested. Opal looked at the towns below them, little villages that still showed the signs of being victimized by bandits. The fields around the town they passed over were empty of grain but people were working there, most likely sowing new seeds. "I know my mentor back at the Northern Air Temple wasn't professional with me."

"Who was your mentor?" Opal asked curiously. Kai grinned at her. "You're such a suck up," she laughed.

"My point is that none of the people I admired ever treated me 'professionally'," he said. "If you looked up to someone like she apparently looked up to Suyin, and that person treated you like that and didn't listen to what you had to say . . . you wouldn't want to wait for that to change, right? Especially if you thought she wanted you to take over someday."

"I don't think she left because she was hurt that my mom didn't treat her nicer," Opal began to argue.

"I'm not asking how nicely she treated her," Kai said. "I'm asking if your mom respected her. And you don't have to answer, I don't want to argue or anything. I don't know anything about your mother."

Opal glanced back at Kai. He'd wrapped his legs around his knees and was looking off into the distance. He really didn't want to fight Opal, he just wanted to help her understand what was going on. Opal felt a rush of gratitude towards him. The very least she could do was honestly think about it.

Like every Beifong, her mother had her flaws. But Suyin didn't really owe Kuvira any respect . . . but at the same time Opal could understand why Kuvira would want it. Suyin was very controlling, over her city and the people within it, especially her family. It was why Opal had been so nervous about confronting her, and why she had almost stayed in Zaofu. It was understandable why Suyin would want Opal to stay, but ordering Kuvira to do the same?

Opal still didn't know if she could trust Kuvira, but as far as she knew Kuvira had left Zaofu to try to help the people outside of Zaofu. If Suyin had wanted Kuvira to eventually take over she should have been okay with Kuvira taking initiative. Still, Opal had always paid more attention to her relationship with Kuvira than Kuvira's relationship with her mother. Opal hadn't been there when everything had fallen apart, but Kai was right. It didn't seem entirely fair.

"Maybe," Opal said at last. "It doesn't make what she's doing okay."

"We still don't know if she's doing anything," Kai pointed out.

"I have a bad feeling about it," Opal said.

"Yeah," Kai replied. "You have a feeling." She didn't appreciate it being reduced to just that, but it was probably true. She idly whipped the reins against Lefty's back, and the giant animal grumbled but picked up speed.

"My mom didn't want her to go," Opal said. "But I know from experience that while she means well, it just comes off as controlling. It _is_ controlling." She couldn't help but wonder why her eldest brother had left. "Maybe that's why Baatar went with Kuvira, because of mom. But I thought he was happy in Zaofu. I thought we all were."

"You left," Kai said.

"That's different," Opal replied.

"Is it?" Kai asked. "You and your brother are doing the same thing right now, helping people, right? Maybe Kuvira was his calling, the way airbending was yours." Opal frowned at the way he'd phrased it.

"I don't think he's helping people," she said simply. "And I do think Kuvira's not as great as everyone says she is. And maybe it's just a feeling but I can't just ignore it either." Kai nodded.

"So . . ." he said. "Kuvira was your mom's protégé. They had a falling out when Kuvira decided to do what she thought your mom should do, and when Baatar came with her things just got worse." Opal nodded.

"That's what I heard," she said.

"So what about you and Kuvira?" Kai asked. "What happened between you two?" It seemed that Opal really was a natural airbender. She'd danced around the question so well even she hadn't noticed it.

She watched the horizon of white clouds and blue mountains slowly approaching them."I don't know," she said. "Nothing happened between us." She felt Kai's gaze on her, like he wanted to ask more questions but couldn't find any. She didn't have any more answers to give. She understood her relationship with Kuvira just about as much as she understood Kuvira. She could only speculate.

"Hey, what's that?" Kai suddenly spoke up.

"What?" she asked, glancing over at him.

"Down there," he said, leaning over the edge. Opal peered over Lefty and saw it. "What is that?"

"Is that," she murdered. "Is that, some sort of camp?" She'd heard the rumours. She'd hoped they weren't true.

"No way," Kai said. He looked up at her, face tight with worry. "I'll fly down?" he asked.

"Be careful," she said. "No wait." This was something she had to see for herself._"I'll_go down." Kai nodded slowly, changing places with her. She unhooked the wings of her suit and clipped them to her arms.

"If something goes wrong," he said. "I'll try to -"

"If something goes wrong, find a way to contact Air Temple Island and if Jinora contacts you let her know what happened," she said. "If I'm not here in half an hour just leave and go get help."

Kai nodded, looking over the side again. Opal stood up. She took a breath and peered over the edge. This was a part of the job she'd never quite gotten used to, but she had to do this. The strange structure on the ground . . . she had to find out what it was.

Kai met up with Opal on the outskirts of the town half an hour later. Kai grabbed her arm and pulled her onto Lefty. She tried to unclip her wings multiple times until Kai stilled her trembling fingers and unbuttoned them for her. They took off once again and Opal felt like it was much colder than she remembered. She sat down. She could feel his eyes on her.

After a moment she finally spoke up. "I don't understand her," she said, faint with defeat. She wrapped her arms around herself, the faces of Kuvira's prisoners fresh in her mind. "I don't understand her at all."


	6. Chapter 6

**170 AG**

Opal watched the muscles in Kuvira's back move as she pulled apart the metal. "Remember," Kuvira was saying, a little grin in her voice. "This isn't allowed." Opal nodded too eagerly for someone who was not being looked at. Kuvira manipulated the hole she'd melted into the dome to be a size large enough for them to walk through.

"You first," Kuvira said, a hint of gallantry in the way she spoke. It was Kuvira's night off from guard duty, but she knew the schedules and had found a temporarily unguarded part of Zaofu for Opal and her to sneak out of. She was dressed pretty lightly but Opal had no doubt she could defend herself and Opal if something did happen.

Kuvira wasn't wearing her guard's uniform; she was wearing some of her dancing clothes but bands of metal encircled her arms and legs. She also wore gloves that were equipped with the metal rope both guards and dancers utilized. Kuvira had mentioned to Opal once that she didn't like wearing the poncho-style clothing that was that was currently straddling the line between traditional and fashionable in Zaofu, and Opal rarely saw her wearing clothes like that.

Kuvira may have dressed lightly, but she was wielding enough defensive weapons for it to be considered armor. All that meant was that when Kuvira stepped outside with Opal and turned around to seal the metal behind them the moonlight set her skin alight with a kind of blue Opal had never seen before. Kuvira turned around then with a smile that seemed to promise Opal she'd seen nothing yet.

"Come on," she said, and Opal could hear a hint of giddiness in her voice. It wasn't just Opal that was excited about this after all. Kuvira gestured towards the horizon and Opal turned her head to really take it all in for the first time. Her jaw dropped open.

The moonlight hit the lotus structure of the domes, lighting them up like a jewels against the blue-black lines of the mountain. In the sky, there were millions of stars, clustering together so closely they lightened the night where they gathered. On the ground dew had collected into constellations of their own and they glittered when Opal moved her head.

It was the rainy season and the storms had littered the ground with large pools that were still enough to reflect the moon, patches of pure white in the dark, blue-green night. The air hummed with a sweet scent of grass and distant blooming flowers. The world was crisp and perfect.

The pure blackness and Kuvira by her side made Opal feel overwhelmed and humbled. Looking up at the stars again, shimmering and flashing, then down at the valley embraced by mountains Opal felt her knees grow weak. She'd read so many adventure stories, chased to remember so many dreams, and yet it was this simple sight that brought her down to this point.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kuvira asked, and she almost sounded proud. Opal nodded, feeling tears build in her eyes. She couldn't cry in front of Kuvira and crying over something like this would be too ridiculous. She tried to wipe her eyes subtly but Kuvira noticed and laughed lightly. "You can see why I don't mind working nights if I get to patrol outside." Opal nodded fervently. She couldn't speak yet.

"Come on," Kuvira said. "I'll show you a better view."

They walked in silence, Opal trailing behind Kuvira a little. She'd never seen anything like this outside dreams, it didn't seem real and Opal couldn't stop her eyes from eating up the scene, desperate to keep it alive in her mind. She felt like the sight would shatter if she looked away for a moment. Kuvira led her deeper into the night.

They settled down against the other side of the dome, the cool metal biting the backs of Opal's arms as she sat down. The view was even more breathtaking here, settled between all the domes. The river snaked off into the distance, smearing the reflections of stars inside the water. Kuvira had her arms folded, but didn't seem too bothered by the cold.

"This is amazing," Opal murmured admiringly. Kuvira nodded and Opal looked at her for a moment, the small smile on Kuvira's lips searing its memory into Opal's brain. Opal looked away quickly, cheeks hot in the cold night. Her heart pounded and Opal pressed one hand to her chest, feeling it beat through her skin.

"Are you cold?" Kuvira asked, dismayed, having misread Opal's gesture. Opal folded her hands in her lap. She was cold after all, but it was definitely worth it.

"Are you?" she asked. Kuvira nodded appreciatively at the response.

"A little," she said. They were both freezing.

For a second Opal desperately wanted to tell Kuvira to hold her. She wanted one of Kuvira's arms to wrap around Opal, tugging her and inviting her to lean against the dancer. Opal bit down those thoughts and didn't examine them. The night was already perfect as it was, she couldn't tempt the universe, and she couldn't afford to think about why Kuvira holding her would make her even happier.

"Next time we'll dress up warmer," Kuvira promised. Next time. Opal's throat swelled so she couldn't embarrass herself.

She breathed in the world and let out the exhale, a cloud billowing from her mouth. "My mom ran away from home when she was sixteen and became a pirate," she said after awhile. "Then she joined a travelling circus, and then spent a few years living in a sandbender commune. She's seen so much." She knew Kuvira could hear the admiration in her voice.

"I know," the metalbender replied. Suyin had probably seen more of the world than the entire population of Zaofu combined and everyone in Zaofu knew that. When Opal was little her mother's memories would be her daughter's bedtime stories, mingling with tales of the previous Avatar and of Opal's grandmother. "Do you want to see those things as well?"

Of all the stories her mother would tell her, Opal had always found her mother's past the most fascinating. The way her mother spoke revealed to Opal how much she loved those days. She didn't want to go back to those times, and Opal didn't believe she missed them, but she looked back on it all with a fondness and satisfaction that Opal wanted to earn for herself someday.

"Kind of hard not to," Opal said at last. "After all those stories. Maybe it's just a part of being a Beifong girl. The urge to . . ." she trailed off. Opal loved Zaofu more than anything in the world. She'd never tell her mother this, though she'd told her father once and he'd smiled at her with a look in his eye that made her feel like she was something to be proud of.

The thing was . . . Opal had heard too much about the world to let it pass her by. She had to see it. Even this little scrap of world had nearly made her teary-eyed because of how overwhelmingly beautiful it was. She didn't know how she would see the rest . . . she wasn't a bender and she couldn't fight. She knew there was a reason why the domes were raised every night. But she could freeze to death out here, sitting next to Kuvira and watching the moon, and feel like it was worth it.

"I don't remember a lot about my family," Kuvira spoke up suddenly. Opal looked at the moonlight on her skin, reflected in her eyes and hair. Her breath misted out of her mouth, rising to the stars, as she continued to talk to Opal. "I was came to Zaofu when I was eight years old. I was lonely at first, your mother saw that I had potential and she was very kind to me."

"Why didn't your parents come with you?" Opal asked.

"They weren't metalbenders like I was," Kuvira said. Opal froze at the offhand way Kuvira had said it, like not accompanying a child to a strange city was something forgivable because of their bending status. Many parts of the city were inaccessible to people who couldn't metalbend, but Opal's father and the few other non-metalbenders found it liveable.

Kuvira had moved on. "I used to hate my parents for what they did to me, sending me away. I felt inadequate, and angry, but I didn't have anywhere to direct that anger except at myself. In many ways your mother and the city she created saved me, allowed me to direct my emotions, good and bad, into making myself a better person."

Opal had had no idea. Kuvira's feelings had never come up, but this was not really something that would come up often. She held her breath and let Kuvira continue. "I couldn't imagine staying with my family now, and I'm grateful they sent me away," Kuvira said. She sounded too bitter to be telling the truth and she noticed Opal's doubting expression.

"They said that they wanted what was best for me," she amended. "But if anything good came from it, it was from what I did for myself." Opal tried not to pity Kuvira, but it must've been incredibly lonely.

While Kuvira hadn't been outright rejected by her family, she had been sent away at such a young age that she might as well have been. If more than a decade had passed and Kuvira still spoke of her family with such a hurt tone it was clear that they hadn't tried to earn her back.

"Where did you stay?" Opal asked softly.

"For awhile I stayed at your house, actually," Kuvira said, folding her arms over her legs. "You were just a baby at the time, maybe two or three years old. You wouldn't have remembered me. Your mother let me stay until she found a better home for me."

"And it was better?" Opal asked. Kuvira looked at Opal, a little surprised, then smiled easily.

"Of course they were better," she said. "They weren't metalbenders so there was never any pressure for me to learn. Su actually visited quite often to teach me." That sounded like Opal's mother. Suyin felt responsible for all of her citizens and enjoyed interfering in their lives in positive ways when she could.

Still, the fact that Kuvira's guardians couldn't metalbend must have made her think of her biological parents in different ways. Opal couldn't imagine how terrible it must have felt to be abandoned like that. Opal never really fit into the Beifong household as neatly as her other siblings, but she'd never been made to feel unwanted.

"My point is," Kuvira said, calling Opal's attention back to the strong, talented woman she'd become. "That even though I was cast out, I still made something out of myself. Your mother gave me that chance, Zaofu gave me that chance. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this city but Opal . . . even I want to leave sometimes."

Opal blinked in surprise. Kuvira smiled a little at her. Opal turned back to the view. The moon had risen higher in the sky now and was a little brighter now. Clouds were pooling around the mountains, drifting down, and in the distance Opal could see wind rifling through the grass and heading in their direction. Kuvira also wanted to leave sometimes. It wasn't just Opal.

And it wasn't just that Opal wanted to go outside sometimes and watch the moon. The way Kuvira looked at her told Opal that she understood that as well. Opal, greedily, needed more. She had everything she wanted, and she always felt like if she died that night she'd have seen and appreciated the world enough. She still wanted more.

But . . . this was enough. Sitting, surrounded by mountains and the black night, feeling both small and large. The stars seemed to spin, and the grass glittered and a cold gust of wind crept on her and Kuvira. Kuvira grimaced against the cold but seemed to enjoy it. They'd have to sneak back soon but for now the moment hung in the air, waiting for them to move.

"Thank you, Kuvira," Opal said, hoping Kuvira could tell how grateful she was. This was one of the most beautiful things Opal had ever experienced, and she couldn't properly vocalize just exactly how it made her feel. Kuvira smiled at her.

"Just imagine if the entire world was as advanced as Zaofu," she replied. She gestured at the view offhandedly. "We wouldn't need the domes."

"We couldn't go out at night when it rains though," Opal pointed out. She liked taking midnight strolls when her mind was feeling full, and she loved to hear the patter of rain hitting the domes, echoing across the place. It wasn't quite as stunning as this, in retrospect, but there was something beautiful in it as well.

"There's nothing quite like night rain either," Kuvira spoke up. Opal glanced at the scene Kuvira had shown her again and saw that Kuvira knew what she was talking about. She smiled.

"I'd like a world where I'd have both options," she confessed softly. Kuvira glanced at her.

"Make that world," she said as if it was the simplest thing she could have proposed. In the night, outside of the pleasant cage that was Zaofu and underneath Kuvira's gaze, Opal felt for a moment, short-lived and brilliant, like Kuvira's words were the easiest truth in existence.


	7. Chapter 7

**174 AG**

Jinora hadn't contacted them in nearly two weeks, which wasn't her fault. She had more important things to be doing than checking up on them. All this meant was that Kai and Opal would have to travel back to tell the airbenders what they'd learned if she didn't contact them first. They were going to fly back anyway but the information they'd just learned made them feel desperate and anxious.

It took Kai finding Opal asleep at Lefty's reigns for them to agree to sleep on the ground and not take shifts flying back because if Opal was falling asleep at the job it meant Lefty would start to as well. They decided to fly most of the day and find a town to rest up at night. Lefty preferred travelling like that anyway and Opal felt bad about pushing him too hard.

Opal and Kai landed down in a small town that was still in the honeymoon phase of the Earth Kingdom's occupancy. Kai and Opal knew not to talk too much about what they had seen because there was no way they'd be believed until it was too late. The Air Nomads were not in a position of trust or authority in the world quite yet.

Some people resented the nomads for not helping their towns in their time of need, but they were a minority. Most people looked at the nomads as a novelty. The Air Nomads were, for the most part, known for not being particularly useful but not being particularly harmful either. People liked getting their photos taken with them and things like that but Opal and Kai knew there was a limited amount time they could spend in a village's hospitality before wearing out their welcome.

In smatterings of towns across the kingdom there was always some villager who'd left to join the nomads anyway. Many people were eager for news Opal didn't have but Kai always found some way to placate them. This town was no different than the other towns they'd passed by. Most people simply ignored them beyond some initial interest, and it suited them just fine.

When they landed, Kai told Opal to find a place for Lefty to sleep while he'd look for a place for them. One thing Opal could thank Kuvira for was that bandits were no longer trying to steal Kai's bison. Lefty lumbered alongside Opal while she located the barn they'd spotted from the sky. It was a bit of a stretch to convince the owner to let Lefty sleep there, seeing as Lefty could barely fit, but she managed.

Opal needed to count her coins to pay the owner of the barn but by the time she'd readied the money the owner waved his hand and said he'd let Lefty stay there for free for the night. People were still euphoric and generous after pledging their allegiance to the Great Uniter. Also, Opal probably looked like she needed it. She thanked him until he told her to leave.

Wandering back into the main part of town she located Kai outside a bar. "I found us a place," he said. "They're kinda desperate for the business, so I talked them down kind of cheap." Opal made a face but they also needed the money to last so she couldn't complain.

"I got Lefty a free night," she said.

"Wow, I guess you picked up some skills from me," Kai said, sounding impressed. Opal rolled her eyes. "Come on, there's food in here," he gestured at the bar. She turned a skeptical gaze on him; he had a few years to go before they'd let him drink anywhere but Kai was already walking through the door.

It turned out the place had once been a bar but with the lack of supplies after the revolution and the fact that the Kuvira's army wasn't going to transport liquor as its first priority, the place had been turned into a makeshift restaurant. It had clearly been reopened recently; the smell of dust still lingered along with the scent of fresh food.

"And now we have more money to spend here," Kai said, sounding relieved, pacing into the restaurant.

"We have to save it," Opal reminded him.

"Opal!" Kai whined. He sounded ridiculous and all but stamped his little foot in indignation. Opal snorted. "Hey," Kai whined again. "Don't make fun of me!"

"Fine," she relented. "I _guess_ we could afford to spend a little more than usual."

"Yes!" he crowed victoriously.

They sat at the bar, peering up at the menu on the wall. "What's your specialty?" Kai asked the bartender as Opal surveyed the bar. There quite a few people in here, quite a few children as well. The scent that had welcomed Opal and Kai was wafting away from the soups people were eating and Opal's stomach rumbled.

She looked up at the menu to see if there was anything vegetarian. Fortunately, there was something on there that was an option. "How about the vegetable noodle soup?" she nudged Kai.

"Pau buns are their specialty," Kai said, looking lost.

"This place looks like it's been open for two weeks," Opal said.

"Hey, good guess," the bartender said cheerfully. Kai looked at Opal with sad eyes.

"I guess we could get both," she sighed. Kai did a little dance in his seat. He was like a younger brother she actually liked so she had an even harder time saying no to him. "Also, could we get some tea?" The bartender nodded and walked back towards the back room.

"You're a jerk," she muttered.

"I believe in people," he said easily. "Those buns are going to be worth it."

When they arrived Opal had to admit they were pretty tasty. Opal had been concerned that they'd have meat, since she and Kai had always been vegetarians when they could afford to be, but they were stuffed full of fresh vegetables. Opal hadn't tasted anything so delicious for about two years.

The soup itself was very good as well, warm and slick, tasting like the kind of food that would make someone homesick. "Where'd you get us our room?" Opal asked as she happily devoured her meal.

"Some inn," he said. "I got us two beds, too. Score!"

"How did you manage that?" Opal asked. She didn't mind sleeping with Kai but sometimes he pushed her off the bed and that had gotten old really fast.

"I told her we were dating and she insisted," he snickered.

"Kai!" Opal mumbled, embarrassed. She glanced back at him. "And you didn't have to pay extra?"

"Nope," he said. He grinned at her silence. "We're going to use that, aren't we?"

"Oh, shut up," she said good-naturedly. The soup was already making her feel better than she had in ages, lighter somehow. For a relatively little amount of money they were getting so much food; it was a feast. She hadn't eaten like this . . . ever. She loved Chef's food back in Zaofu, everything the man had ever made was a masterpiece. This was something simple but it made Opal feel so genuinely happy.

"I think this is the best thing I've ever eaten," she told Kai.

"Same," he said cheerfully. Opal paused chewing. Not everyone had a background like hers.

"I'm sorry, Kai," she said. "I didn't think."

"About what?" he asked. Opal stirred her soup awkwardly. "Oh. You know, you think your rich girl victim-complex is charming," he said, taking another bite of his pau bun. "It's really not." Opal flushed. He noticed that and stopped eating for a moment and looked a little regretful at his choice of words.

"Look, just don't, pity me. And don't pity yourself," he muttered and stirred his soup moodily. "You can feel bad, and you should, it sucks a lot that I was poor. But feeling guilty about it is useless and bringing it up kinda ruins the meal."

"I'm sorry," Opal said.

"Stop apologizing," Kai said, looking at her. Opal shut her mouth. He frowned. "Right now, it doesn't matter where we came from, or what we did. We're both in a better place than we were three years ago. Helping people is always going to be a better place. Being with a friend is always going to be a better place. This soup tastes good because we're both tired and hungry and with _each other_. That, and the fact that it's good soup." he added hastily when the bartender glared at him.

Opal smiled down at her bowl. Neither she nor Kai had really had friends before this. Despite their backgrounds they were similar in many ways and those similarities bridged their differences and made them an efficient, balanced team. They weren't just friends, they were partners. "I love you, Kai," she said quietly. She really did. Over all they'd been through in the past few years she'd grown to care for him like he was family.

"I'm taken," he responded haughtily.

"Kai!" she grinned at his deflection. He didn't want to get too bogged down with a serious discussion.

"I love you, too," he said, smiling at her. "Just stop, acting like I'm going to fall apart if you bring up how poor I was. I'm not, someone for you to pity. I took care of myself." He was still such a kid; proud and angry.

"You shouldn't have had to," Opal murmured. "You shouldn't have had to be a bender for someone to care about you."

"Yeah," Kai said, stirring his bowl. "Yeah, I sometimes wonder where I'd be if I didn't learn how to bend. Probably in prison. And you, you'd probably still be in Zaofu." Opal nodded.

"Maybe not," she said. "There's a reason why we're airbenders, and even if there isn't, I know us." She couldn't help but grin. "We'd see each other, Kai. We'd find each other." She had no idea where she was pulling that from, but it was accompanied by such an intense, giddy feeling that she knew it was the truth. Kai nodded seriously.

"You know I . . . I've never had someone I could really depend on before," he said. "Or, I guess it's better to say that I've never had someone depend on me, someone who trusted me completely, someone who actually . . . wants what's best for me. Growing up the way I did, I thought everyone just looked out for themselves but that isn't true. I never had a friend like you. But," he said, growing grim. "Kuvira." Opal's heart sank.

"I don't want to talk about her," she said, fingers clenching around her bowl, the heat marking her skin.

"We won't," he said. He glanced around the bar, at the bowls of soup full of vegetables the Great Uniter's army had brought to the town. "We can't. But, my point is . . . I think things are going to change soon. Something's going to happen." Opal didn't doubt it, Kuvira had told her as much. "I guess, I just want to say thank you, and goodbye, just in case."

"I'll accept that thank you," she said firmly. "But you're not getting rid of me just yet."

"Just," he said, looking troubled. "Whatever happens - take care of yourself, okay? If I can't, make sure you do."

"If she takes you," Opal said. "Do everything you can to get away. I don't know how bad it gets, but I know I don't want you to be the one to find out." Kai heaved a sigh into his meal, looking solemnly at the noodles. They'd agreed to go tell Tenzin and the others but they hadn't discussed it with each other. Clearly they'd both been thinking about it.

They hadn't really spoken about what Opal had seen down at Kuvira's camp. There wasn't much more than what they'd seen in the sky, so there was no point. But they'd pointedly avoided talking about what it could mean. "Want the rest of my pau buns?" he asked. Opal did. Kai slid his plate over and finished off his tea.

"I'm glad you're my friend, too, Kai," Opal spoke up as she chewed on a bun. He smiled at her.

"I know," he said.

"These last few months would've been really frustrating without you," she said, taking the chance to move onto a lighter topic. "Is it conceited to say that it's annoying to arrive too late to help anyone?"

"I wouldn't say we arrive too late," Kai shrugged. "But I will say that Kuvira definitely has a better mode of transportation than we do, no offense, Lefty," he added as though the bison could hear him. Mentioning Kuvira made Opal feel cautious but she still laughed.

Suddenly, the door of the bar wafted open, a breeze hitting the back of Opal's neck. "I got the paper," a child said as they entered and walked up to the bar. They could barely reach the counter so Kai helped them out, placing the newspaper on top of the counter.

"Thanks kid," the bartender said, tossing them a coin. The child argued about the amount and Opal's eyes wandered over to the paper, still feeling warm from talking to Kai. Her eye caught the headline and she pulled it over to her. She gasped out loud.

"Kuvira's in charge of the Earth Kingdom?" Opal yelled, slamming the newspaper away from her.

"Whoa, Opal, calm down," Kai hissed, glancing around the place nervously.

"What, the Great Uniter?" the kid asked. "That's old news, lady." Opal felt sick.

"I'm sorry," she said, sitting down. She hadn't noticed she'd stood up. She was trembling with barely suppressed rage. When Kuvira had talked to Opal she was planning to - "Is Prince Wu alright?"

The bartender shrugged. "Last I heard he was moping around Republic City in one of the Sato estates."

"What happened?" Opal asked, probably a little too intensely.

"You have the newspaper," the bartender responded.

Kai laughed awkwardly. "Can my friend have another cup of tea?"

Opal leafed through the pages, skimming the article as quickly as she could. Most of the news revolved around Kuvira. She'd gone to Republic City, to Wu's coronation, and usurped him in front of all his people. No one had stopped her. Opal had met Wu once back in Zaofu and while he hadn't struck her as the most competent future ruler anyone would be better than someone throwing their dissenters into camps.

"Your tea is here," Kai said. Opal felt too sick to drink it.

"Kai," she said, voice high.

"We stick to the plan," Kai said firmly. Opal nodded. Things were so much worse than she thought. She had to get back home. She had to see her family. She had to find and shake some sense into Bolin. She had to stop Kuvira before she fucked up even more. Before she came for Zaofu,_oh no_, Kuvira was going to come for Zaofu next because of course she was -

Kai was talking in the distance and Opal couldn't breathe. She sagged against the counter, her heart thudding through her chest, feeling chills break across her arms. Kai looped an arm under her shoulder and pulled her out into the night where she could fall apart with some dignity. Opal just leaned against the wall outside, sobbing and shuddering, unable to think and thinking far too much. Kai pulled her into a hug and they sank down against the building.

When Opal finally gained some focus, exhausted with a splitting headache, Kai was saying, "We'll stop her." Opal felt nauseous and exhausted. He helped her to her feet and they began walking towards the inn. Opal wiped her eyes and told him it wasn't comforting.


	8. Chapter 8

**170 AG**

Opal was taking a walk across Zaofu, enjoying the sun and wind, when she spotted Kuvira. She and a friend had set out a blanket on the grass and were relaxing together. Kuvira's friend was dressed in Zaofu's traditional clothes and Kuvira wore a top and loose, green pants. Kuvira was really beautiful, stretched out across the woman's lap and laughing joyfullyin the daylight. The sight made Opal smile a little even while her heart clenched in her chest.

"Hey, Opal," Kuvira said, grinning at Opal. Opal blushed and glanced away, she hadn't intended on Kuvira noticing her as she passed them.

"Hi," Opal said, stopping and walking over to Kuvira, a little reluctantly.

"Out for a walk?" Kuvira asked, eyes bright.

"Yeah, just a small one," Opal shrugged. Kuvira's gaze fell on the book Opal was holding and raised an eyebrow.

"Good book?" she asked.

"I like it," Opal replied, self-consciously clutching it to herself.

"So about those dance lessons," Kuvira said, changing the subject with ease. Kuvira had somehow managed to get Opal to agree to some lessons. Opal was forever torn between wanting to be around Kuvira and not wanting to humiliate herself in front of her but she'd accidentally said yes to Kuvira's offer and now had to go through with it. "Are you busy now?"

"Ah, no," Opal said. She obviously wasn't. Kuvira raised her eyebrows. "You're free?" she asked.

"Yeah, for awhile," Kuvira said easily. "Want to practice?" Opal gulped. She really didn't. "You promised," Kuvira reminded her, teasingly.

"Yeah, alright," Opal sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"No need to sound so enthusiastic," Kuvira chuckled up at her. Opal shrugged.

"Finding a new dance partner?" Kuvira's friend spoke up. Her voice was soft and teasing.

"Yes," Kuvira said. "Jealous?"

"I can only take up so much of your time," her friend replied good-naturedly, sitting up and causing Kuvira's head to roll off her lap and onto the grass. "I have to leave for work now, anyway." Kuvira sat up and grinned at the short-haired woman.

"I'll see you later?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"I'll see you later," the other woman replied, winking at Kuvira. Opal was a little confused at Kuvira's secretive smile in response, but then Kuvira was up and moving, and Opal was struggling to keep up. Kuvira hadn't even told her to come with her.

"I'm thinking today we'll start with some stretches and then just see what level you're at," Kuvira suggested.

"Oh - okay," Opal mumbled. She was sure it'd be obvious as soon as she started stretching.

"Don't worry about looking a little silly," Kuvira said. "We all start at zero and then work our way up from there." Kuvira's words were supposed to be reassuring but they didn't really help. Still, even while dread was eating Opal up, Kuvira's enthusiasm was catching. It was best to get it over with anyway.

Kuvira and her friend hadn't been that far from the studio, so within a few minutes they were at the building. Kuvira swiftly bent open the doors and walked into the place. It was so strange for Opal to see the giant building devoid of dancers; whenever she'd dropped by her mother had always been running rehearsal. Opal soon found out they wouldn't be dancing in the main room however. There were more rooms inside the building and Kuvira unlocked one, stepping inside and holding the door open for Opal.

As Kuvira turned on the lights and set up a record player Opal looked around the area. This room was the farthest thing from intimate which made her feel relieved. It was a smaller practice room; it still had the tall ceiling but the walls were covered with reflective metal. With the mirrors, the place seemed huge.

Kuvira put on a bright, somewhat jazzy tune that was more characteristic of Republic City than Zaofu. Opal hadn't heard any of the dancers dance to songs like this but she figured that they used it for warming up. "I don't really like this kind of music," Kuvira admitted, rebinding the bandages on her arms. "But this one has a good rhythm."

Kuvira stretched her arms over her head, her muscles flexing. Opal set down her book by the door and paced towards the middle of the room where Kuvira was standing, looking up at the metalbender with wide eyes and a determined, if probably apprehensive, expression. "Now," Kuvira said with a smile. "Have you ever danced by yourself when no one was watching?"

"No," Opal said honestly. "Not since I was a kid." This was off to a great start.

"Really?" Kuvira asked. "Do you think it would be easier for you to dance if no one watched?"

"No," Opal said. "Because I can't dance." Kuvira grinned.

"Dancing isn't about skill, it's about feeling," she assured Opal. "If you like to dance you'll get better eventually."

"I also don't like to dance," Opal reminded her with a shy smile.

"Well, how can you know that if you don't dance?" Kuvira asked her. "Come on. Just move around a little. Stretch. Do whatever feels comfortable." None of this felt comfortable. Opal tried moving to rhythm but it just came out jerky and uncoordinated. The lights were way too bright in this room, and Kuvira was watching her. Oh spirits, she was totally unteachable wasn't she.

"Maybe we should try something different," Kuvira said thoughtfully. Opal stopped dancing immediately, hanging awkwardly. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was unbelievably embarrassing and awful. Opal hoped Kuvira didn't notice how red her face probably was; Opal's cheeks were burning. She just wanted this to be over.

"This is an older song," Kuvira spoke up. "The dance is Bagua and Northern Shaolin in synchronization." She noticed Opal's confused look. "It's a traditional style. Here I'll dance with you. At least now you got warmed up . . . sort of." Opal couldn't wait for Kuvira to give up on her.

Kuvira changed the record than walked over to Opal as it began to spin. "The movements in this dance," she said, starting to circle Opal and extending her arm. "Were based on bending." Opal mimicked her and stuck out her arm and Kuvira moved so that their wrists touched. Opal began to circle around Kuvira in the opposite direction, trying to follow her movements best that she could. The music began to play.

"I know you can't bend, but you can still learn from it," Kuvira went on. "It's all about listening to your body. You can't just will it into happening; your body and your mind have to work together to manipulate whichever element you've been given. That type of control is very important to being a good dancer as well as a good bender and it's one of the reasons I still dance. It's not an ability you can stop practicing and then still expect to have in a year."

Kuvira switched directions and Opal stumbled a little but picked up the movement. "I'm, sorry," Opal mumbled. She was following Kuvira okay; the moves were pretty basic and Kuvira's body language gave Opal warnings when she was going to change something up, but Opal still wasn't moving perfectly on beat or even in sync with Kuvira. She was grateful that at least she wasn't tripping over her own feet or stepping on Kuvira's.

"You're not listening to yourself," Kuvira said, as though it was that simple. "You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, Opal, no one will think less of you if you're never a good dancer. But." Opal looked up at the metalbender for the first time since they started dancing together. "You should still try." Opal was trying.

"Just listen to the music and try to enjoy it," Kuvira said, her voice low and soothing. Opal closed her eyes and listened as they moved. The music had a slow, steady rhythm, but the instruments were bright and the melody leapt from beat to beat. It did sound old, and kind of airy; its rhythm was slow now but not at all tentative and it seemed like it was picking up. It was nice.

The world narrowed down to the touch of Kuvira's wrist to Opal's, the rough bandage there. The dancers wore them to prevent accidental injuries from dancing with metal, taking them off only for opening night. The music and the bindings were all Opal noticed and her body moved by itself. Kuvira guided her movements with care, and when the rhythm started speeding up Opal didn't worry that much.

"The traditional dance was a little more complex," Kuvira murmured, guiding Opal's movements to change directions and try a slightly more complicated move. "But these are the basic movements. The circling we're doing here is something common in all forms of bending, gathering the energy together." Kuvira moved her hands, mimicking the movement of bending and Opal copied her, calmer now.

They moved again as the music picked up pace, and Opal felt more confident. Her body had warmed up now and she felt safe to open her eyes now. Kuvira was grinning at her. "You just had to relax," she said, sounding pleased.

"I'm still not great," Opal said, stumbling a little as Kuvira broke off for a move but Opal quickly corrected her course.

"You don't have to be great," Kuvira said. "But you wanted to dance, and now you can dance. Improvement comes with practice." Eyebrow quirked to let Opal know she was going to try something, Kuvira span Opal. The nonbender fortunately didn't fall over and resumed her previous position, circling Kuvira with a little grin.

"Thanks," she said. It was true, she could dance a little. It wasn't that big of a deal, actually. Opal felt almost relieved. She was still kind of clumsy, but she could do it. They practiced for half an hour or so more. At one point Kuvira even switched the music back to the original song and Opal did a much better job at loosening up and dancing than she had before.

Opal found herself grinning, it was actually kind of fun. She heard a gentle knock at the door and turned around to see her mother. "Opal, why couldn't you learn how to dance when I taught you?" Suyin asked semi-miserably from the doorway. Opal turned around and smiled at her mother, stepping away from Kuvira and wandering over to her.

Kuvira also looked at Suyin carefully and expectantly, waiting for her judgement. Suyin smiled at them both. "That was lovely," Suyin said, threading her arm through her daughter's to pull her along back to the guard. "You're an excellent teacher, Kuvira."

"I learned from the best, Suyin," Kuvira said, pleased but still a little formal.

"I told you to call me Su," Opal's mother scolded Kuvira lightly. She turned her head and smiled at her daughter. "You've really grown, Opal," Suyin said fondly.

"I'm not going to start dancing now, mom," Opal warned her.

"I know," her mother said cheerfully, running her hands through Opal's hair idly. "You were very good though."

"Mom," Opal repeated but she was starting to smile.

"I think I have guard duty now," Kuvira said, reading the room. "Good afternoon, Opal, Su." With one last smile to Opal Kuvira left the room, leaving the door open for them. Opal waved goodbye. Suyin watched Kuvira go, and then wandered from Opal's side to shut off the music and put the records away.

"How do you feel about Kuvira, Opal?" she asked as she worked.

"I like her," Opal said honestly. She wasn't sure why her mother was asking though.

"Do you trust her?" Suyin questioned. Opal didn't know how to answer that. Kuvira had never been put in a position to betray or uphold Opal's trust. Suyin seemed to see Opal's confusion and wandered over to her daughter again. "She's rising quickly through the ranks," she explained. "I'm sure you've heard rumours about how she's next in line to be the guard captain. I'd like to have someone I can trust in that position."

"You don't trust Kuvira?" Opal asked. She didn't know why Suyin wouldn't, especially since she'd been the one to teach Kuvira metalbending.

"I trust you," Suyin said firmly. "I trust your judgement as much as I trust Aiwei's." Opal looked at her mother. She knew that Suyin had already made her mind up either way, she'd known Kuvira the longest after all. All the same, she wanted Opal's opinion and the way she looked at Opal made Opal feel she had the final say.

Her mother knew that she sometimes ran a fine line between being too controlling over her people and too biased. She needed to know from someone like Opal that her opinion was alright. She knew Opal would never abide by anything morally wrong from anyone and she trusted Opal to tell her relevant information that she and Aiwei might have missed.

Kuvira had never betrayed Opal. But she had let Opal outside of Zaofu. Kuvira been covered in metal, doubling as potential defence and offense, and nothing had happened but she'd still pulled apart the dome. Opal knew she should tell the Metal Clan's matriarch about this. Instead, she took her mother's hand, held it and smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

**174 AG**

Kai and Opal had been flying for a few days straight and exhaustion was settling tightly in their bones. Taking the knowledge of camps together with the fact that Kuvira had finally conquered the Earth Kingdom officially meant that there was no time they could waste. They hadn't heard of any attempts of retaliation by other nations but the leaders didn't know what Kuvira was doing, what she was capable of.

If Kuvira was imprisoning her own people she was a threat to everyone else. She'd nearly convinced Opal otherwise and the airbender was increasingly finding that she couldn't trust herself around Kuvira. The woman easily threw off Opal's understanding of reality; she tried her best to be objective around her but there was too much history there and trying to distrust Kuvira made Opal sound like she hated her. She couldn't find neutrality.

Kai hadn't been her partner two years ago when Kuvira had been appointed the president of the Earth Kingdom. Back then, she and Jinora had worked together; Opal felt like it had been a babysitting gig for Tenzin's benefit even though it was completely unnecessary. Opal had still been a little unsteady with her bending but it came to her easier than anything else ever had, especially under the tutelage of the airbending master she fought alongside with.

Together, she and Jinora both did their best to fill the recently vacated role of the Avatar and try to bring balance to the world. Bolin had set out to do the same in the Earth Kingdom army and he quickly rose through the ranks. He didn't think it was relevant, and it probably wasn't, to mention that Kuvira was the one who had spotted him and promoted him to his position. While Opal didn't like soldiers she was happy for him; he told her he had really found his calling and she'd been proud.

When Opal first heard rumours about the army's treatment of those who opposed them, she didn't know that Kuvira was at the forefront. If she had she might've formed her views differently but she didn't. With new victories being won by the month, and Kuvira's face on posters and in papers, Opal soon learned who their leader was. But before that, all Opal Beifong knew was the primary purpose of armies.

From studying books upon books since she was a child, and having been indoctrinated with her mother's own distaste for police and military personnel, she knew an army's purpose was to invade and kill before it was to aid and protect. When she found out that the Interim President was on the frontlines, her title of "Great Uniter" spoken with reverence, Opal felt chills and for the first time ever, doubt.

Opal couldn't stop herself from overhearing gossip and the gossip didn't stop either. Even in the towns that had called out for Kuvira in the beginning, one could hear whispers of the ways her army dealt with people who refused to deal with her. Opal didn't believe the rumours at first, she'd known the Great Uniter after all, but the rumours didn't abate the way rumours always did.

With the clear views her family held, Baatar Jr. aside, Opal had no reason not to doubt Kuvira. She didn't want to, and the few times she'd run into her brother and Kuvira the doubts would evaporate and she'd feel relieved. However, Opal could not ignore the way the world was changing, the way Kuvira was changing, the way her eyes got sharper and her face grew harder each time Opal saw her.

When Kuvira had found Opal in Yi and put her hand on her shoulder she'd lured her into complacency so swiftly, just like she lured everybody. Kuvira would try to play nice but if it failed she would bully people into doing what she wanted. Opal knew this for a fact now but back in the beginning she'd only had a feeling, a sick, sinking feeling, that Kuvira had changed.

After a year of being Jinora's partner, the girl had gone back to the Air Temple to be with her family and oversee new airbenders and Kai had been assigned to be Opal's new partner. Kai was quiet now, at the reigns of his bison. She sat up near the head with him, reading a book. They were both the kind of person that was comfortable with silence.

The book she was trying to read had been given to her by a villager they'd helped awhile back. There was no real room to pack books on Lefty and she'd finished all the ones she'd brought with her so she'd been savouring this one. However, at this moment, thinking was proving to be painful so she'd given up saving the novel and had started reading it again.

"Hey, Opal," Kai spoke up. She looked away from her book immediately. She was jumpy, and hadn't really been reading attentively anyway.

"What is it?" she asked. She put down the novel and waited for him to speak. He just looked at the horizon, considering his words, and she combed her hair through Lefty's fur and looked down at the patchwork fields beneath them.

"How are you and Bolin?" he asked after awhile. Opal said nothing. "It's just, it kind of looks like you guys fought. Badly."

"I guess we did," Opal said. Honestly, it was the last thing on her mind at that moment. And Kai knew that, of course he did, he was trying to distract her. She wished he could distract her with more pleasant things but that obviously wouldn't work. Her relationship with Bolin wasn't a life or death situation. It felt almost, safe, to think about them as opposed to the camps she'd seen. It was something a normal person would think about.

"I was just angry that he didn't believe me when I said he shouldn't trust her," she shrugged. "I know we haven't been around each other for awhile, and I know he really thinks he's doing a good thing, but he isn't. Kuvira isn't trustworthy, but she's very good at making you _want_ to trust her." She swallowed her disappointment and anger and looked back to the land below them.

"Is that why you're so mad at her?" Kai asked. Opal was silent for awhile. She watched the clouds pass by beneath them. They'd slept on the ground last night, Lefty had needed it desperately, but Opal hadn't been able to sleep. Her whole sleeping schedule had crashed and burned so she'd stayed up all night, heart beating against her ribs, screaming at her for trying to sleep when innocent people were being put into camps. She was exhausted and could hardly think.

"How do you and Jinora do it," she asked Kai. "How do you trust each other?" She was cold up here, and she had a little headache, and talking to Kai was making her feel more lonely and lost then his silence had. "It's been three years. Sometimes I feel like I can't trust Bolin to make the right decisions because he can't or won't see the whole picture, and he doesn't trust what I have to say about Kuvira either."

Kai puffed out a sigh. "Well, for one," he said. "Me and Jinora are kinda on the same side so that's easy. But also, trust isn't just something you just - give to another person. It's something you prove to each other, constantly. Jinora's always come through for me, and I've tried hard to do the same for her. I stopped stealing, I stopped lying. Trust isn't something that automatically comes when people love each other."

"Kai," Opal grinned all of a sudden. "Did you just say . . ." Kai's spine stiffened and he blushed.

"I didn't say anything!" he said loudly. "I, I meant, hypothetically, if two people were in love with each other -"

"Anyone I know?" she teased.

"No, I mean, Jinora and I -" he said. As if summoned, Jinora suddenly appeared floating over Lefty. Kai turned his neck, forgetting his backtracking, and grinned at his girlfriend.

"Jinora!" he cried. His arms tensed like he wanted to hug her but otherwise he didn't move; he just looked at her with a bright smile and held on Left's rains tightly. Opal got to her feet and walked over to the girl as Kai coaxed Lefty to hover instead of fly.

"Jinora," Opal said, forcing Jinora's attention onto her. "We have something to tell you about Kuvira."

"So you know?" Jinora asked tensely.

Opal's heart missed a beat. "Know what?" she asked.

"When I heard I knew I had to come and tell you," she said. "Zaofu radioed us as soon as they found out."

"What about Zaofu?" Opal asked, a sinking feeling pouring into her chest.

"Kuvira's travelling to Zaofu right now," Jinora said. "She wants them to join the Empire."

Opal didn't know what to think. Kai let go of Lefty's reins and grabbed her by the arm. "Thanks Jinora," he said to his girlfriend.

"I thought you'd want to know, Opal," Jinora said, sounding almost regretful.

"Thanks," Opal said.

"You wanted to tell me something?" the airbending master asked tentatively.

"It's not important," Kai assured her, keeping his grip on Opal's arm. Opal's mind was blank. "I'll see you soon." Jinora nodded. With a quick smile at her boyfriend and another concerned glance at Opal, Jinora's projection fizzled out of existence.

Kuvira had lied to her so viciously, and now she was going to invade Zaofu and bring down the domes that had been her job to protect. Opal blinked and Kai let go of her arm. She turned to him. "I have to go back," she said. "I have to - I'm sorry Kai - I -"

"Don't worry," Kai insisted, eyes wide. "Go be with your family. Take Lefty, I'll glide back." She grabbed into a tight hug, his chin digging into her shoulder.

"Thank you," she said.

"Just make it there in time," he said as he hugged her back. "Kick her ass for me." She choked on a little laugh but she was terrified.

"Go back and tell Tenzin everything I saw," she ordered him. "If you see Jinora again, tell her." They all probably already knew about the camps and Kuvira's threat on Zaofu would look just as bad to the world leaders, but Opal couldn't leave it up to faith. There hadn't been time to tell Jinora, Opal need to get back to Zaofu immediately.

Kuvira - Opal didn't believe that she'd be able to stop her from doing whatever she'd set her sights on, but Opal needed to be with her family right now. She was grateful that Kai immediately understood that and helped her. He took the money and she kept most of the supplies, she wouldn't have time to buy things. She hugged Kai one last time and he unclipped the wings of his suit. He dove off of his bison and glided away. Opal watched him fade into a dot beneath her before turning Lefty around, settling in for a few more sleepless nights.


	10. Chapter 10

**171 AG**

Months after the first time, Opal and Kuvira kept dancing together. It wasn't something constant or consistent; they weren't practicing to perfect anything. Whenever Kuvira had a night off of guard duty and wasn't doing anything else Opal would pretend that she had a break from her own not actually busy schedule as well and they would hang out together and dance.

Opal took it more seriously than Kuvira, who probably saw it more like loosening up and stretching than anything else, but it wasn't just because Opal wanted to hang out with her. Opal still admired Kuvira and loved being around her but she was growing to like dancing itself. She'd never be great but she understood why Kuvira enjoyed it now.

Sometimes, Opal even danced _without_ Kuvira. When she didn't have anything else to do some nights, or if her current book got too intense to read, she'd come down to the dance hall and find a room to practice in by herself. She didn't have a record player in her room and preferred practicing with a mirror.

One night Opal had felt like dancing so she walked over to the dance studio, listening to the rain pattering on the metal roof far above her head. It was after dinner and the domes had been closed; most citizens had already turned in for the night. There were few people in the streets so Opal enjoyed the solitude and the echoing drumming of rain.

When she finally approached her mother's dance studio she realized the doors were shut. Of course it would be closed, locked to Opal. The doors were too large and heavy to be opened by a person's physical strength; everyone else used bending to move them. Opal frowned, disappointment churning in her chest.

Many doors in Zaofu would only open to benders and everyone on her mother's dance troupe could metalbend. Looking closer, however, Opal realized the doors weren't completely closed after all. One side was slightly ajar and she squeezed her way through it. It was a lucky coincidence, but she'd probably have to mention it to someone.

Opal walked quietly through the huge dance room. It was quiet here, and she could hear the padding of her feet on the floor. Zaofu, for such a relatively small city, could seem so big at times it overwhelmed Opal. Zaofu was built for grandness; to be something to be so big and wonderful it made you feel small and glad to feel that way. Sometimes all Opal felt was lost. She wandered over to the rooms where Kuvira and she would practice dancing.

Unlike the main dance hall, which was cast mostly in darkness and the bright yellow lights from outside the building, there were lights in the back rooms in addition to the mirrors Opal used to watch herself dance in. She unlatched the heavy door on the far side of the hall and entered. She noticed the glaze of the dim light falling out of one of the rooms, reflected on the floor. Someone was here.

Somebody else using a practice room would explain why the front door was ajar and Opal didn't see a huge problem with it, relaxing slightly. She'd mentioned to Wing that she was going to the dance studio; it wasn't like she was sneaking out. Still, she didn't feel prepared to dance in front of strangers, so she resolved to find another room. Kuvira's room wasn't the only one with mirrors so Opal didn't mind.

She walked quietly passed the doors when she heard a thump and a pained hiss. Was someone hurt? She heard some heavy breathing coming from inside the room. Another grunt pierced the silence. Opal peered inside the room, but here was a metal divider that blocked her view of whoever was making those noises. Opal entered the room carefully and walked up towards the divider.

The heavy breathing was unnerving, and the sounds Opal was hearing were strange and unfamiliar, but if someone was in pain they'd need her help so she toughened up. She peered around the divider and what she saw made her mouth fall open. It was just Kuvira and her friend but what they were doing almost made Opal gasp loud enough to betray her position to them.

Kuvira was sitting on a bench on side of the room and her friend was kneeling on the floor, her hands gripping Kuvira's thighs securely. Kuvira's pants were pooled around her ankles and the other woman's face was in between her legs. Opal was confused for a moment, but then Kuvira moaned again, legs spreading apart wider and hand clutching the woman's short, black hair.

Kuvira was wearing the kind of clothes she wore at rehearsal, loose, white top and green pants. Her hair was in its usual braid but feathers of black were sticking out. She jerked her head to the side and bit back a whimper as the woman between her legs licked her once, slow and deep, and easily slid two fingers inside of her. The woman pressed closer and began sucking on Kuvira, moving her fingers in and out methodically.

Kuvira's fingers tangled in her friend's short hair and her head rolled back, mouth hanging open in a gasp. Kuvira seemed utterly lazy, stretched out across the bench, another woman between her legs. Opal clamped her hand on a gasp. They were - they were having sex! Kuvira and the other dancer! Opal instincts were to run and to hide, and they clashed - leaving her only able to stand behind the divider, mouth hanging open in shock, cheeks burning.

Even when she turned her face and hid she couldn't help but see Kuvira in the mirror on the wall parallel to her. Opal had never seen Kuvira like this, skin flushed on her face and chest, body somehow both taut and relaxed. Kuvira looked like she could barely keep herself still for this but like she wouldn't move for the world. Her mouth hung open, sweat trailing down her face as the short-haired woman licked her.

"How's that?" the other woman asked in a sweet voice. Opal heard her press long, wet kisses onto Kuvira. Kuvira made a low humming noise. Chills ran down Opal's spine. They would be so angry if they found out she was there but she couldn't trust herself to leave unnoticed at that moment.

"Yeah," Kuvira murmured in her deep voice. "That's good." Opal watched, open-mouthed, as a bead of sweat trailed down the slope of Kuvira's neck. She had to get out of here. Kuvira's hand snuck into her shirt, massaging her breast, and the woman moaned again. Her deep voice rumbling inside the compact room sounded like the thunder outside the domes.

Looking around, careful not to knock over anything, Opal began to back away, out of the room. She could only hope that Kuvira didn't see Opal's reflection anywhere but she knew the woman's eyes were shut tight in tense pleasure.

When she turned around and left she caught one last accidental glimpse of Kuvira in the mirror, knuckles white in her friend's hair as the woman pumped her fingers in and out of her, licking her like her life depended on it. Opal practically sprinted across the main room, and squeezed out of the door as fast as she could.

Her heart was pounding too fast and she felt light-headed; she sat down by the side of the building on the grass. The rain was hitting against the metal harder now, in tempo with her rapid heartbeat. She was throbbing in the same place the dancer had been kissing Kuvira. She put her face in her hands and felt the heat in her cheeks. She was blushing more brutally than she ever had in her life, feeling mortified and guilty. She couldn't have gotten away faster.

She also couldn't have guessed that that's what the noises had been, Kuvira and her friend, her girlfriend maybe, having sex. She thought she'd managed to get away without embarrassing them, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed herself. She should have run away as soon as she'd heard the noises; she should've looked at anywhere but Kuvira and her reflections. Opal could do nothing more but sit in the grass until the throbbing between her legs dulled down.

When Opal went to bed that night she couldn't get the sound of Kuvira's moans out of her head. Kuvira's deep, throaty voice, echoing off the walls of a room identical to the one they usually practiced in. The way her chest rose in her white shirt, her sweat glistening in the dim lighting. Opal couldn't stop thinking about Kuvira's fingers curled in her friend's short, dark hair, tugging harder with each stroke of her tongue.


	11. Chapter 11

**174 AG**

Days had to pass for Opal to finally see the familiar mountains that encircled the valley where her hometown lay. Her throat clenched. From this distance she couldn't see if Kuvira had arrived yet. When a few hours had gone by and Lefty flew over a mountain peak Opal was relieved to see that there were no signs of the Earth Empire army.

Each and every dome was up and the reflected sun burned white into her eyes. Squinting, she spotted some guards milling around outside the city. They weren't watching the skies but she could see them and she knew they would recognize the bison once they noticed it. When Opal and Lefty settled down outside the dome that housed the Beifong estate it opened up for her without hesitation.

Having landed, she recognized a few of the guards and they recognized her as well. She could see that were all stressed, anticipating Kuvira's arrival, but a few guards greeted Opal with smiles. She asked them to take care of Lefty and she turned her back to watch them lead the bison to the stables her father had built for visiting bisons.

The domes began to be sealed up again, and she watched the sunlight retreat until the smallest sliver was eaten up by the shade. Looking down she could see how the plants in Zaofu were suffering from Kuvira's threats, the grass was ill from lack of sun. How long had the city been under this pre-emptive siege?

Suddenly, from behind her, Opal heard a familiar, high-pitched gasp. She turned around quickly, a grin already spreading across her lips. "Opal's here!" Wing yelled, voice breaking a little. "Mom!" Dark thoughts forgotten, Opal almost started crying from happiness as she sprinted up into her brother's arms. He picked her up and spun her around in the air.

"I missed you!" she cried, and she hadn't noticed the magnitude of it until she had her arms around him.

"You got shorter," Wing started blubbering, wiping his eyes as he hugged her back, arms warm on her waist. She grinned into his chest, giddy. Wei all but tackled them when he launched himself at Opal, attaching himself to her side.

"You're back!" the other twin sniffed, mussing up her hair, swaying his siblings in their tight, clumsy embrace. Tears ran down Wing's face without check and he wiped them and laughed even while Wei punched him in the hip. Opal couldn't help but lean up and squeeze them closer to her, smile cracking her cheeks open.

"Mom!" Wing yelled again. Opal saw her mother, elegant in her way that hurt Opal wonderfully to see preserved, emerge from the door of their house and her eyes lit up. She yelled something inside the building and then started running up to her daughter, arms already open. Her brothers' grip on her released, allowing Opal to dart over to their mother.

Suyin grinned, tears in her eyes, as she got her arms around Opal, holding her with strength she'd gained from fighting and dancing and being a mother; a securing hold. Baatar Sr. joined his family in the next second, extending his arms around the both of them, smiling so gently and excitedly. "Opal!" Suyin murmured, as though she couldn't believe it. "You're back!" Wei made a choked sound from behind them.

"We weren't expecting you," Opal's father said warmly, his hand gentle on Opal's back.

"I'll get Chef to make you something to eat, you must be starving," Suyin said, stroking her daughter's hair. Opal sagged in her arms, unwilling to let her mom go just yet. It was so good to be back, to smell her mother's perfume and her father's aftershave. Even the domes that had at times felt oppressive were lovely now, as comforting as her mother's touch.

"I had to come back," Opal said, trying not to cry. She felt her father and mother jostle around her and she knew Wing and Wei had reattached themselves to the messy hug she and her parents shared.

"We're so glad you're here," Suyin said, hoarse with emotion.

"I don't know how much I can help," Opal spoke into her mother's neck. "I didn't see any of Kuvira's troops outside the city."

"No," Suyin said, voice growing more serious.

"She gave us some warning," Baatar Sr. spoke up, his tone still soft. "She'll be arriving soon. She's been gathering together all the soldiers she can spare."

"She plans to invade us," Suyin said, extricating herself from her family's embrace so that she could look Opal in the eye. "She says she wants a diplomatic meeting, but no one brings an army if they just want to talk." Opal recognized the truth in her mother's words.

"She would rather we join the Earth Empire right now," Baatar Sr. said, pushing his glasses up on his nose anxiously. He seemed older now, they both did.

"It's not going to happen," Suyin concluded.

"What can we do?" Opal asked her family. "What can I do?" Wei's sniffs had stopped, and Wing finally let go of Opal's back. The dimness of Zaofu, a sort of twilight colour marked with streetlamps, became reality inside Opal's mind. Opal felt wonderful, loved and cherished, but she couldn't ignore what the future had in store for them, not when there was a possibility she could help.

"I don't know," Suyin said honestly. "But I'll be damned before I let her take Zaofu." Opal had forgotten how fierce her mother could be and how much she admired her for it. Seeing her daughter's expression, Suyin's face softened slightly. "Come on now," she said gently. "Chef's missed someone to cook for. We can deal with Kuvira when she comes. Right now, I'm just happy to have my daughter back home." Opal let herself smile again and her mother, Wing and Wei in tow, tugged her towards the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

**174 AG**

Opal walked into her old bedroom. They had kept it as it was, it had even been dusted. If not for the fact that it didn't smell like her anymore, it was all exactly as she'd left it three years ago. Opal lay down on her mattress and almost gasped at the sensation. Her bed was firm but soft; she hadn't felt a bed this comfortable in years.

From what she learned, not much had changed around the estate either, but people had advanced and grown in ways she was proud, if surprised, to learn about. Over lunch, Opal had forced Chef to gossip to her about her brothers. Both of her younger siblings had joined Zaofu's guard, taking up positions Kuvira and so many others had vacated. They were still eighteen, and hadn't been given a lot of power, but Opal could tell that Wing and Wei would be good at their job.

On the less professional aspects of life, when Wing had turned seventeen he had begun ploughing through romantic partners and had currently paused on a boy Opal remembered from school. Wei, on the other hand, was resolutely single and Opal could tell he, being the more idealistically romantic of the pair, was waiting for the right person. Even in wartime people didn't change much.

Huan had dropped by the kitchen and accidentally ran into Opal. She promptly subjected him to a tight hug and when she finally let him go he grabbed a wrap from the kitchen counter. He moved to leave, an excuse about his latest work ready on his lips, but Opal managed to convince him to stay and eat with her. Suyin, reading the situation, turned and chatted lightly with the chef while Huan ate his lunch and Opal interrogated him about all she'd missed.

Her brother wasn't an outgoing person; he was a sort of blunt introvert who enjoyed art more than people. Opal was friendlier than he was but they both enjoyed solitude with their respective hobbies and because of that had been close to each other when they were children. It didn't take long for Opal to get him to relax and just talk to her.

Huan, according to himself, didn't have much to tell her about his life since not much had changed in it. He didn't ask her about her life and she was hungry for news about Zaofu so she bullied him into expounding on his. In the three years that had passed between them, he'd thrown himself into his art, the impending war hadn't changed that. As he spoke his fingers twitched, somewhat nervous, and she could tell that even then he was eager to get back to his studio.

She wondered if he ever felt like guilty about pursuing his passion while the world outside crumbled, like she did, or if he felt like it was a duty to do so. There was something in the way he spoke and acted that made Opal realize his reasoning was that art and individuality needed to be protected and nourished in such harsh times, not cast aside.

Their conversation waned, and they sat together silently and listened to their mother speak with the chef. Huan finished his lunch eventually and left, but when he did his movements were more relaxed than they'd been when he'd walked in and Opal smiled to herself.

Chef had already been preparing lunch by the time she had arrived, and he'd fed her the food he'd already prepared before going on to make more vegetable wraps than she could possible eat, later insisting that she take them with her. She knew that when this was all over she'd have to invite Kai to visit and let him be pampered as much as he deserved. She left lunch after awhile and wandered back to her bedroom. With a full stomach and a soft bed, she felt totally at peace.

She'd anticipated a battleground but instead found a safe haven, her home eagerly welcoming her back in. Lying on her bed, she rolled her head to the side to look at her bed stand. Her eyes fell on a book she'd started but never finished. She picked it up, and opened it. She lost herself in the novel until her father knocked on the door and told her it was time to eat again.

Dinner was a surprisingly tense affair; her family hardly spoke. Baatar's chair remained empty. There were so many empty seats now . . . first Aiwei, now Baatar. Opal could imagine her own empty seat. She looked at Wing and Wei. They were older than she'd been when she'd left but they'd stayed. She loved Zaofu, she loved her bed and her books and her family, but she couldn't imagine staying now.

When Chef came in she found out he'd prepared her even more of her favourite dishes and she'd almost started crying. She was still full from lunch but she couldn't stop grinning at him whenever he reentered the dining room with another course and eventually he just pulled up a chair and sat with her. They continued their conversation about the changes in Zaofu, but kept the subject matter more general this time around. They were nearly the only two people who talked the entire meal.

Chef's duties hadn't changed at all since the three years had passed, but the dinners had become less lavish due to wartime circumstances and overall mood. Chatting at dinner, and quietly to each other during lunch, Opal managed to piece together most of what had happened since she'd been gone. Suyin had tried to keep a brave face about Kuvira, continuing the dance troupe and parties, but things weren't the same after all that had happened and Suyin slowly let those traditions die.

Her father kept to his innovations, sometimes helping Asami in Republic City with her own plans. He also spent a large portion of his time with Suyin, supporting her quietly, and it was refreshing to see that at least that hadn't been lost through the years. Baatar wasn't a similar person to his wife, but he knew how to make her happy and how to support her goals and she always made sure to do the same for him.

Suyin, momentarily snapping out of her gloom, regaled Opal with the story of how Baatar had secretly taken dancing lessons to cheer her up after she disbanded the troupe, and how it had been his clumsy dancing that had managed to get her to laugh for the first time in weeks. Opal loved hearing about how her family, no matter how fragmented, still loved each other. She ate those words up and basked in it all.

It was so nice to be back here, even if her family was too anxious about the impending battle to really welcome her fully. Walking back to her bedroom, having eaten more food in two meals than she had for three years, she considered the future. She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow but she knew she'd missed this place. Did Baatar? Did Kuvira? She found it hard to believe that they didn't, at least a little.

She wondered if that was why there were so intent on claiming Zaofu. But then again, with the amount of force they were bringing with them Opal felt like they wouldn't care if they tore the place to the ground in order to get it under their control. Opal couldn't understand why, and beneath all their empty platitudes, she knew they wouldn't tell her either.

All the same, Opal felt dreary and sentimental. In a few days, her brother and Kuvira would be back in Zaofu, and she wondered if they would they feel anything at all. She closed her eyes and remembered how it used to be. Opal's life had been so harmless and childish once. Bitterness squeezed her throat. With those thoughts, suddenly, her bed was too soft; the world was too quiet for her to be comfortable.

**171 AG**

She was nearly asleep when Kuvira paced into her room. Moonlight was drifting in through the open window along with a soft breeze, teasing and stirring the night air. It was the click of her door shutting that alerted Opal to Kuvira's presence. Opal sat up in her bed, pulling her sheets with her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Are we under attack?"

Kuvira stood there for a moment, the light making her skin shine. She looked surreal, like an apparition. Her face was blank but her eyes were searching. She walked closer to Opal with the grace and quiet of a dancer. Her silence worried Opal but there was something calming in the way Kuvira moved. She walked cautiously but not fearfully.

"No," the woman replied, sitting down on Opal's bed. Her weight made the mattress shift, gravity pooling around her in a way that made Opal's knees fall against her back. Kuvira turned her body, placing one hand by Opal's head, and looked down at the girl. Opal looked up at her, eyes wide. Kuvira smoothed Opal's hair behind her ear. Opal held her breath.

"Why are you in here?" she asked after a moment. Kuvira's lips suddenly broke into a smile. Opal watched her eyes, less apprehensive now and more interested. Kuvira bent down closer to Opal and the nonbender's back straightened. She wasn't sure what was going on. She didn't feel unsafe but this was something new, something unfamiliar. Kuvira now was eye-level with Opal, their lips were close enough to brush against each other.

"If you want me to leave," Kuvira said in a low voice, and trailed off. Shivers rippled across Opal's spine. Kuvira's pupils were so dilated that her eyes were black. She smelled sweet, like flowers and soap. She wasn't wearing her guard's uniform; she was dressed in her dance clothes. The moonlight hit her shoulder where the strap of her shirt had rolled down.

Kuvira leaned in closer and Opal pressed her hand to Kuvira's chest to halt her. Kuvira's skin was hot. Kuvira moved her face and leaned her forehead into the crook of Opal's neck. Opal gasped then bit her lip. Her hands moved to hold onto the backs of Kuvira's upper-arms, and she could feel the strength coiled there.

Kuvira's breath was hot on Opal's chest. Opal shifted in the bed and Kuvira pressed her down. She moved her legs onto the bed, kneeling between Opal's, and pressing her lips against Opal's neck. Opal let out a noise of surprise, and Kuvira kissed her again.

"Kuvira," Opal stuttered, voice shaking. "What are you doing?" She knew what Kuvira was doing. She was kissing Opal's neck, soft, hot kisses, over and over.

"Nothing," Kuvira answered, pausing to look up at Opal with shining eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" Opal asked again, but her hands were finding the edges of Kuvira's arms and were tugging her in closer. Kuvira nudged open Opal's legs with her knees, moving into the space she made there. One hand tilted Opal's face to look at her as her thumb slid across Opal's lip.

"Is there?" Kuvira asked. Opal could tell Kuvira was asking for permission, but the woman was leaning closer to Opal, caressing her face. Opal couldn't say no even if she knew what she was saying no to. Opal's breath shook in her lungs. Kuvira leaned down and pressed a firm kiss on the space between Opal's collarbones. Opal's fingers tightened on Kuvira's arms.

"Kuvira," she whispered. Kuvira kissed her again, on her neck, under her jaw, on her neck once more. Opal trembled as Kuvira lightly slid her tongue along Opal's jugular, and barely bit back a gasp when the woman gingerly nipped her skin. Wherever Kuvira touched her, Opal's skin sung.

The girl's hands abandoned Kuvira's arms and moved to cup the woman's face, stopping her mid-kiss. Kuvira's lips shone in the moonlight. She didn't move. Opal tucked her black hair behind her ear, marvelling at how soft it felt. Kuvira's body was so warm on Opal as she pressed her down into the sheets and her weight felt anchoring.

Opal threaded her arms around Kuvira's neck, pulling Kuvira's forehead to rest against her own. She could hardly breathe. She'd shut her eyes and she could almost hear Kuvira smile in the darkness. The metalbender ran her thumb idly across Opal's neck, calm and reassuring. Opal opened her eyes again.

She could barely see Kuvira but she could feel her. Her warm breath, the feel of her chest and stomach flat against Opal's, and the simple feeling of Kuvira watching her. Kuvira seeing her. Opal's arms wrapped tighter around Kuvira's neck, pulling her face closer to hers. Opal leaned into Kuvira's soft lips, and woke up in the same bed alone, disoriented and desperate.

Moonlight in Zaofu should have been the first sign.


	13. Chapter 13

**174 AG**

"Opal, Opal," one of the twins hissed, shaking Opal awake. Her room was still dark and her sheets were warm; she wanted to sleep. She twisted around in her bed, sleepily throwing a pillow at him, and shut her eyes tighter. Her brother was insistent, ripping away her bed sheets. Cold air bit Opal's skin and she was very tempted to use her bending on him.

"Opal!" he insisted, fingers pinching on her shoulder, shaking her roughly.

"What," she grumbled, sitting up in her bed and shrugging his hand off of her. She'd planned on sleeping in as late as she possibly could but her brother, Wing she thought, was bent on disturbing her rest. She rubbed her eyes with the butt of her palm before opening them, blearily, to look at him. The worry in his voice became apparent when she noticed his expression.

Gaining Opal's attention rendered Wing speechless. Opal rolled her legs over the side of her bed and looked at her brother. "Is she," she began.

"Yes," Wing said, breathless. That was enough.

Opal jumped out of bed and grabbed her uniform from off her chair. She pushed Wing out of the room and quickly changed into her Air Nomad uniform. Her mother had had it washed last night and while Asami had designed it to be stain and water resistant and not to absorb smells the cleaned uniform still felt better on her skin. Opal was too stressed out to properly appreciate it.

She raced downstairs and found her entire family sitting in her father and mother's joint office, gathered close together and looking lost. "Where is Kuvira?" Opal asked them breathlessly. Suyin's jaw twitched as she looked out the window to her darkened city.

"She hasn't arrived yet," Opal's father spoke up, voice gently breaking the buzzing silence. "Her army has." Opal glanced at her mother who said nothing, simply folded her arms. The warmth Opal had felt yesterday quickly shattered into the reality of war, the reality that Kuvira could take Zaofu and destroy it. Zaofu was built for defence, not offense, and they would be letting Kuvira into the city when she arrived.

There would be talks, and hopefully a battle could be avoided. Zaofu's domes were strong and made up almost entirely of platinum, but Kuvira had been the guard captain and knew the weaknesses and strengths of the city. The only thing keeping Kuvira from plucking Zaofu out of the Metal Clan's control was perhaps her image. Kuvira still wanted to look good to her people.

Everyone was too tense to sit and wait for the Great Uniter, but Opal wasn't going to let Kuvira intimidate her when she wasn't even in the room. She sat down on the table with the model her father and mother had created of their city so many years ago and she didn't get back to her feet until Kuvira entered the room, Baatar and Bolin in tow.

Opal acted coldly towards Bolin, no doubt wounding him. He'd turned her back on her when he'd sided with Kuvira, so she turned her back on him. Opal was furious with her boyfriend and she made sure he knew. Kuvira had her army outside Zaofu and he still refused to see that she was someone evil. Opal's heart was shredding itself; she and Bolin were as good as done.

Bolin still tried to sway her, and her family, even though they all knew it was futile. He was as enthusiastic as he'd been in his letters. He talked about how much they had helped the Earth Empire, about the progress they'd brought to towns across the nation. Opal shot him down by reminding him about the prison camps. Bolin refused to believe her. A small part of Opal was grateful that at least he hadn't known about them.

Kuvira was just as adamant about her cause as Bolin, but she was mysteriously silent about the camps. She became angry when Opal's mother accused her of bringing Bolin to try to manipulate them. Opal realized that Kuvira didn't want to think she could possibly be in the wrong. She thought it was all justified - using Bolin, Baatar, her entire army. She was derisive and defiant. Nothing was going to stop her from taking Zaofu.

Opal had forgotten just how dysfunctional her family could be, especially when they were angry at each other. Suyin and Kuvira were furious with each other and everyone else was either unwilling or too weak-mannered to step in. Suyin accused Kuvira of brainwashing Baatar Jr., Kuvira responded by saying she freed Baatar to accomplish more than he would in Zaofu. These talks were a formality but Suyin and Kuvira acted unprofessionally, even cruelly, towards each other.

Opal, still adept at blending into the background, took the opportunity to do so. She didn't want to think about Kuvira, who was just using these talks as a means to gloat and try to get Zaofu to surrender. Opal's mind wandered to her brother, standing strong and smirking by his fiancée's side. He'd said he had been living in their parents' shadow three years ago. Opal couldn't believe that he felt like that, he'd never given any indication of it.

It was clear that he felt injured by the way he'd been treated in Zaofu, though none of them had ever been treated particularly badly. As Kuvira strutted around the room, Opal chose to ignore her and watch her brother instead. She wished she could take him aside and talk to him, but she knew that when she'd yelled at Bolin for picking sides, she'd picked hers.

Opal should've tried harder with Baatar in the past, but he'd always fit in the family better than she had, nonbender or not. Despite being the only nonbending children in the Metal Clan, they'd never been particularly close. Opal had felt lonely as well at times, a misfit, but she'd never felt overshadowed. Opal had a hard time believing that Baatar, who had fit so neatly into the family, working with his father and constantly being praised by his mother, had felt bad back in Zaofu.

Opal's eyes fell on the miniature model of Zaofu and combed through the extensions that had been added in later years by Baatar and his father. Perhaps the reason she'd never felt overshadowed was that she had never tried too hard to be accepted. She'd never thought she needed to. Her family loved her, even if she wasn't Zaofu's ideal citizen. They loved Baatar as well but perhaps he hadn't felt it. Had he ever wanted to be an engineer, or was it just something he used to get closer to his father?

Suyin loved all of her children but she showed her love clearest when she was boasting about them. Her nonbending son working as an engineer had definitely made her proud. Opal herself had rarely been on the receiving end of that praise but her mother had always made sure Opal knew that she was loved. However, the only daughter had likely been coddled more than the eldest son.

Suyin lashed out angrily but Opal could tell his words were eating at her. While both Baatar and Opal were nonbenders, Opal had always known that their relationship to that was different. Baatar had accomplished many useful things, gaining scientific and mathematical knowledge that most benders wouldn't bother with and applying it to help others. Opal read, danced badly, talked to people. She'd been a good person but other than that useless.

And this uselessness had bothered Opal for a long time when she was younger. Opal realized that not only had she probably been treated differently since she was the baby girl in the family, but that her relationship with her grandmother also likely had affected her self-worth. Grandma Toph and Suyin had not reconciled with each other until Baatar was already busy learning how to be an engineer.

Opal, on the other hand, had been doted on by the world's first metalbender. Grandma Toph, whenever she had visited, had spent most of her time with one of the few nonbenders in the metal city and told her stories about brave, famous nonbenders like Sokka, Ty Lee, Suki, Mai, and many others. Without that, without being given such first-hand representation of how nonbenders could be good people who could help others, Opal couldn't be sure of how she'd turned out otherwise.

Since it had taken so long for her grandmother and mother to reconcile with each other, Opal suspected Baatar had never been given that foundation. If that was true, then the only representation of a nonbender that he had was his father. Perhaps this explanation was simplistic, most likely it was just Opal desperately trying to excuse her brother. He was still her family, but he was acting cruelly and callously. If this was true, it wouldn't excuse what he was doing now but it would explain it.

It didn't matter. Kuvira left with the threat of twenty-four hours. Baatar didn't even say goodbye. Opal knew that the first time he and Kuvira had left Zaofu they'd left with good intentions. Opal felt scared now. If this was just him getting back at his family then she was worried about how he'd treat people in the empire he and Kuvira were trying to make.

With the talks finished, Opal realized that she hadn't gotten any better indication of why Kuvira needed Zaofu so badly. Or why Bolin hadn't left Kuvira's side even while she was threatening Zaofu with an invasion. All Opal knew was that she couldn't sit and wait twenty-four hours for Kuvira to come and take Zaofu.

When Korra arrived Opal was momentarily distracted. She hadn't seen the Avatar in years, she thought she'd been healing with the Southern Water Tribe but now she was here. Korra didn't have time to catch up. She wanted to help, and Opal was sure Korra could mediate in a way none of the Beifongs were capable of. However, she was just as sure that Kuvira would not negotiate. Kuvira had had so many opportunities to turn back in the past that Opal doubted that even the Avatar could make her stop.

Korra and Suyin were talking in the courtyard but Opal felt antsy. According to Korra, the enemy outside was huge; composed of hundreds of soldiers and mechasuits. Opal doubted that as an Air Nomad she could do anything against them but she'd been herself longer than she'd been an airbender. There was still something she could do.

She spotted Huan walking in front of her outside the estate, probably headed to his studio. She hadn't really had a chance to catch up with him as much as she'd have liked to but she didn't have time now, not when she had to leave again. "Huan," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. He turned around and let her hug him.

"You need my help," he deduced. She looked up at him guiltily. He'd dyed his hair green now. It looked good.

"What do you need?" he asked, Beifong loyalty overriding the insult he knew she hadn't intended. "Help me get outside," she said.

Huan glared at her. "What do you need outside?" he asked. He was right to be suspicious.

"I need to talk to Kuvira," Opal said. She'd avoided thinking about Kuvira when the woman was in the room but Kuvira's presence was becoming unavoidable. Opal needed to confront her.

"Do you think you can change her mind?" Huan asked dubiously, already beginning to walk towards the edge of the dome. "I know you guys got along before all this . . ." Huan always seemed off in his own world, thinking intensely on his current project, but he noticed more than most people gave him credit for.

"I, I don't know," Opal said. "But I need to talk to her."

"She might take you," he pointed out, hands feeling the walls to find a break in platinum.

"If she does then Zaofu and Korra will have justification to attack her," Opal said. "She won't take me. And even if she tried, she couldn't. Please Huan, I know what I'm doing." She didn't and he could tell. All the same, he pulled open a section of Zaofu. She knew it irritated Huan to use his bending for something so pedestrian.

"I'll be here," he rolled his eyes as she stepped through the hole he'd made.

"You don't have to," Opal said. "I can -" But Huan had gotten bored and started melding the metal back together. "Thanks," she said as he sealed the hole. The last glance she got of his face told her he was worried. She stared at the metal, stitched back together immaculately. "I'll be safe," she said, even while he couldn't hear. She had to have a word with Kuvira.


	14. Chapter 14

**174 AG**

Outside the dome it was too sunny and cheery. It was the kind of day that was perfect for hiking up in the mountains, not making war. Kuvira's army were congregated in an almost straight line on either side of the railway and Opal followed the line into the distance. It took her about twenty minutes to reach the main camp.

Most of the soldiers didn't do anything as she approached and subsequently passed them, they just watched her walk by. It surprised Opal; the red of her uniform probably warded them off. However, by the time she neared Kuvira's tent a few soldiers had finally broken formation and grabbed her, holding her with harsher force than was necessary.

"Let me go," she snarled at them. "Let go of me!" There were three of them with their hands on her and they refused. Opal yanked her arms out of their grasps but they held her fast, uncertain with what to do with her. Then, to brighten her day further, Bolin came plodding on up to them.

"Hey, let Opal go!" he said, physically disentangling the soldiers from Opal. He was the last person Opal wanted to see and the last person she wanted to help her. She folded her arms.

"She's trespassing," one of the other soldiers said.

"We don't own this place," Bolin said, brow wrinkling in confusion. "She can go wherever she wants. And she's an Air Nomad, you can't just - " While they were talking another soldier had seized Opal, pissing her off even more.

"Stop it, Bolin," she said, pausing her struggle for a moment to snap at him. "Don't defend the enemy." Bolin looked like he'd been slapped. Opal felt a little guilty but she bit it down; she had nothing to feel guilty about. At that moment, Kuvira came pacing up to them and Bolin almost unconsciously stepped back to make way for her.

"No, no," Kuvira said authoritatively. "Let her pass." Her soldiers let Opal go just as Opal wrenched her arm back from them. "Come on, Opal," Kuvira said, posture relaxed. "Let's talk in private." Kuvira knew what she was here for. Bolin looked after Opal with confusion and she fixed him with most withering expression she could muster. She glared at the soldiers one last time and followed Kuvira into her tent.

As soon as Kuvira shut the door Opal turned on her. "Get out of Zaofu," Opal said, voice shaking with barely controlled rage. Seeing Bolin defer to Kuvira so obediently even, after he'd witnessed Kuvira threatening Zaofu directly, had only gotten Opal more furious. She couldn't stand to see Kuvira so in control like this.

"I'm not in Zaofu," Kuvira said, a little smirk touching on her lips. The implication hung heavy and threateningly in the air. She was gloating.

"Why are you doing this?" Opal hissed.

"Zaofu has abstained for long enough," Kuvira said, losing her good humour. "It's time this city acts on its responsibilities to the Earth Nation."

"So you're going to force us to work for you?" Opal asked. "Why do you want to turn Zaofu into another factory for your Empire?"

"I don't," Kuvira said. "Opal, what you've seen, what you've been calling slave labour, I hope you realize that I'm not the only one that will benefit from what they produce. My people's service to the Empire is only temporary until the entire nation has been stabilized. Everything we're creating is for the Empire's benefit, including the workers."

"What about your dissenters?" Opal asked, unwilling to let Kuvira's justifications distract her. "You're doing just what the Earth Queen did. You're not a real leader. You're just another coward that got a hold on some power."

Kuvira sighed, discontent. "It disappoints me that you think like that."

"It disappoints me that you want to do this to Zaofu," Opal said. Kuvira looked at her coldly.

"You had a problem with me long before this," she said. "Tell me what's really bothering you, Opal. Is it that your little boyfriend knew that the only way he could help the world was through me? That all your training was essentially useless because in the end _I'm_ going to be the one who changes this world, not _you_, and not your Avatar." Kuvira's eyes were bright with cold excitement.

"Perhaps you could still rally the troops, but I don't see them coming to your aid," she added. "From where I stand the only way you can be of any use to the people of this Nation is by joining us. But you're too proud to do that." Kuvira was one to talk about pride but Opal held her tongue even while she was shaking with rage. Kuvira smiled at her as though she'd just realized something.

"Opal," she said patronizingly, a grin growing sharper on her lips. "Don't be upset that you didn't come with me three years ago. You could still -" Opal reeled her arm back and landed her fist down on Kuvira's jaw, punching her so hard the thwack of Kuvira's head on the wall behind her sounded through the air.

Opal fell off Kuvira, clutching her hand that stung with a jagged, crawling pain. Kuvira turned to her side and spat out blood. Kuvira hadn't seen it coming; she must have bit her tongue. She looked up at Opal cautiously, wiping her mouth. Opal had never hit anything so hard in her life. Opal felt horrified and disgusted.

"I'm sorry," she blurted, stepping away from Kuvira and turning to run.

"Opal, wait," Kuvira said, stepping off of the wall and walking over to Opal. Opal paused, running her fingers along her stinging knuckles. "I don't blame you for being angry with me," she said even while a little blood seeped out of her mouth. "You don't understand yet."

"You shouldn't," Opal said quietly. She turned around, all feelings of remorse burning away. Hitting Kuvira was childish but Kuvira held thousands of lives in her hands so Opal didn't have time to feel bad. "And I don't! You have my brother, my boyfriend, you're trying to invade our city, and you_lied_ to me!" Kuvira looked at her with a soft expression, feeling her jaw with her gloved hand. She wasn't even listening to Opal.

Opal advanced on the metalbender, determined on making her hear what Opal was saying. "You betrayed me. You lied to me after you said that you wouldn't, and you took those I love from me!" Opal's hands were shaking. "And I admired and cared for you _so_ much and you still did those things, you're still going to take Zaofu and destroy it for your own goals! How could you do this? Why are you doing this?"

"Opal," Kuvira said, voice breaking. She wanted to defend herself but she knew that if she tried lying again Opal was going to leave. Instead she cupped Opal's face in both palms and Opal shuddered. She hadn't expected this. The material Kuvira's gloves were soft on her cheeks, and her hands felt so strong. This wasn't good.

Opal was always forgetting how much she craved this kind of attention when she was a little younger. How could Kuvira use that against her? "No, don't touch me," she whimpered. Kuvira held her in place with her hands, trying to get Opal's attention. "No, let go," Opal begged. Kuvira refused to; instead she tilted Opal's face towards her and tried to make eye contact.

Kuvira couldn't possibly know how easy it would be to get Opal to crumble. With all her righteous anger Opal's oldest memories of Kuvira were kind ones. She knew, rationally, that Kuvira was a horrible person, a dictator, a liar, and even now she had acted vindictive, manipulative, and arrogant. But Kuvira only had to look at Opal with the same gentle expression she'd worn in Zaofu and all Opal realized that Kuvira's insinuations weren't entirely unfair.

"Opal," Kuvira repeated. "Please, listen -" Opal couldn't wrench out of her grasp by herself, but she needed to get Kuvira to let go of her face. Kuvira grabbed her hands. Opal needed to get out. This was a mistake, she needed to leave, but Kuvira wasn't letting her go and was holding her tighter. This had to stop and impulsively, out of options, Opal gripped Kuvira's uniform and pulled her against her, leaned up and tasted blood.

Kuvira let go.

Opal flushed. She didn't know why she'd kissed Kuvira, but it had worked. Kuvira, who'd been gripping tender bruises into her wrists, was standing a few steps away from Opal and staring like she was looking at a stranger. Opal felt viciously glad that they shared that feeling. Kuvira looked at Opal, chest heaving, and the feeling evaporated.

For some reason Opal couldn't move. She was free to run now but something kept her there, waiting, even while Kuvira stayed still. Opal felt self-conscious in Kuvira's gaze. Her own breathing was heavy. She wanted to push her hair behind her ears but her hands were still shaking. Kuvira's blood was on her lips. It tasted like metal.

Suddenly, Kuvira had walked up to Opal again and pressed her mouth against the airbender's, pulling her into her arms. Opal balked but Kuvira held onto her, moving her lips against her in a way that made Opal gasp out loud. Kuvira pressed Opal against the metal wall of her tent and continued to kiss her like she couldn't think of an alternative.

Opal couldn't think at all, her mind had gone blank. She could scream for help but she wasn't sure she wanted to. She wasn't in danger, even as Kuvira moved closer against her, one hand sliding down her side and resting on the small of her back. Her hands were free, she could blast Kuvira across the room and run away and she knew Kuvira wouldn't try to capture her but . . . she didn't. She was letting Kuvira, her future sister-in-law, the Great Uniter, kiss her. And suddenly, she was kissing her back.

Opal moaned into Kuvira's mouth when Kuvira bit her lip and she pressed herself into Kuvira, her arms wrapping around the taller woman's waist. Kuvira's mouth tasted like blood, and her mouth was harsh on Opal's. She wasn't angry or forgiving about the injury, but Opal knew it must hurt Kuvira to kiss her. She was actually kissing her.

Opal couldn't think about it. She didn't even know what she was doing. The more she and Kuvira kissed, the less Kuvira tasted like blood and pain and the more she tasted like something familiar, something human. Beneath the tangy taste that Opal's anger had left in her mouth, Kuvira tasted sweet and clean and somehow perfect.

And it shouldn't have felt right, Kuvira's bloody teeth and smooth gloves and hands tugging on Opal's waist, bringing her closer, pressing her into the wall, drawing Opal's will to leave out through her mouth, but it did. It felt so right. Kuvira's lips were softer, and her kisses were harder, than what Opal had imagined. She was gutted with the realization of how often she had imagined it.

Opal tugged Kuvira closer, desperate for a deeper kiss. Pulling Kuvira against her caused the metalbender's knee to slip between Opal's legs and knock against the wall. Through the thick layers of her Air Nomad uniform Opal could feel Kuvira's thigh beneath her. Kuvira kissed her and unintentionally moved her leg, setting a spark burning in Opal's stomach. Opal's hips jumped, and Kuvira noticed.

She thrust Opal against the wall, sliding her leg between Opal's again, and Opal couldn't help but move on Kuvira's thigh, her breathing cutting off and restarting sporadically. Her cheeks were hot; she felt dizzy. Kuvira held Opal's hips, guiding her movements on her leg, continuing to kiss her. Opal felt herself getting increasingly shameless, dangerously slow. She could feel Kuvira's chest pressing tightly against her own, flattened in the confines of her clothes.

Kuvira's hand hoisted up Opal's leg and she pressed herself down onto Opal's thigh, still kissing her. Opal's hands tightened on her Kuvira's waist; she could feel every roll and twitch of the taller woman's hips and Opal whimpered. Kuvira put her palm on Opal's chest and kissed her deeper, moving up and down Opal's leg, nudging Opal into the wall. Her hand on Opal's breast was massing it gently, thumb flicking against her nipple. Opal's legs were losing strength but Kuvira was there, holding her up, crowding her against the metal wall, and kissing her like it was the only thing keeping Opal in place.

But no matter how good Kuvira's hand felt on her, Opal wanted it out of the way. She wrapped her arms around Kuvira's neck and kissed Kuvira as hard as she could. Kuvira grunted and her mouth fell open, surprised at Opal's forcefulness. Opal trailed her tongue across Kuvira's lips, making a little noise at the back of her throat. Kuvira's hand stopped moving, it just gripped Opal's possessively. Opal traced Kuvira's lips and bit her lower lip as gently as she could, pulling it into her mouth. The breath stuttered in Kuvira's lungs. Opal knew that Kuvira could feel her heart beating against her bones. She couldn't tell if she was excited or afraid.

Kuvira's hand finally abandoned Opal's chest, leaving Opal free to press herself against the metalbender. They were both wearing so many layers but Opal could swear she felt every inch of the older woman. The hand the Kuvira wasn't using to support Opal's thigh found the small of Opal's back and stroked her there. The move sent chills across Opal's body, it felt unfairly intimate.

Kuvira kissed her slower now, guiding Opal's movements on her leg. It drove Opal past the point of thinking when she felt Kuvira's hips twitch when she rode her thigh; and Opal's hips twitched so often now. Her lungs felt heavy with, with something, with Kuvira, Opal's head was growing light and her vision was spotting. She couldn't stop kissing her. She'd forgotten everything else; it just felt so cathartic to kiss Kuvira, to be kissed by her.

Kuvira was the first to pull away. Opal leaned automatically forward, chasing Kuvira's lips, and finding only air. Kuvira pushed her back against the wall, breathing shakily. Opal opened her eyes a little. Kuvira's lips were puffy and Opal nearly moaned again. Kuvira's mouth was no longer bloody, and Opal could barely see the red mark from where she'd struck her. This was so wrong.

Opal put her hand on Kuvira's jaw, trying to apologize wordlessly; she couldn't speak yet. Her lungs were raw, lips swollen. Everywhere Kuvira had touched her seemed to sting and ache for something. Kuvira pressed her forehead against Opal's, breathing heavily. Opal would wonder later if Kuvira was manipulating her but Kuvira was trying to hide her hands from Opal. They were trembling.

"Opal," Kuvira said, voice hoarse. The moment shattered and Opal realized what had just happened. She pushed Kuvira off of her and did what she should have in the first place. She ran away, gathering speed until her heart felt like it was bruising the inside of her ribs, until her lungs shuddered in her chest, until she reached the domes of Zaofu.

No one pursued her, Kuvira must have given orders for them not to. It seemed like not even Bolin had noticed, something Opal couldn't express her gratitude about. She sought the dome she'd come from and Huan was there where she'd left him, waiting to let her in. He didn't ask her questions, he knew that whatever she'd tried to do wasn't successful but she'd survived. Opal was up in her room before she wiped her mouth and found flakes of red and brown coming off on her hand.


	15. Chapter 15

**174 AG**

When Kuvira took her mother and her brothers, and Korra tried to suggest that it was justified, Opal tasted a new depth of rage. Korra had put her hand on Opal's shoulder and Opal had jerked her arm away, unable to stand the touch. She had told Korra to kill Kuvira, in not so few words. She had wanted Kuvira dead.

Opal was not an angry person, but she was becoming one, and she hated it how it felt on her. In the time between kissing Kuvira and nearly killing her, Opal hadn't slept at all. She'd lain down in her bed, waiting for the sun to rise. When the light finally climbed over the mountains Opal got to her feet as well, aching with exhaustion. She and Jinora joined Korra at the negotiations everyone knew would be nonnegotiable except Korra, who still had hope.

Opal was unable to see the optimism Korra contained until it was too late. Standing out in the field, Kuvira taking the time to mock them even though the situation was lethal, Opal and her mother both insisted Korra go into the Avatar state to fight her. Korra had refused at first, but her plans melted from negotiations to a one-on-one fight.

But Korra's body was too weak and her mind too reluctant; Kuvira brutalized her. Korra had never directly killed anyone before, but murder wasn't something distant from the avatar. Mako had suffered depression for years after he killed Ming Hua, and Opal suspected that it was one of the reasons he'd slowly stopped being a cop. He couldn't bear to take a life even if it was for a good reason, even if the life was a criminal's.

Avatars had murdered as well; in the end they were just people with their own strengths and flaws. And going into the state was more than just a pooling of powers and experiences, but of responsibility. Opal knew distantly that Korra no longer had any connections with her past lives, but the Avatar State still brought her power. When Korra finally went into the Avatar state, she took a boulder over her head large enough to block out the sun.

In the past, generations of Avatars would have held the gigantic rock, some killers some not, but only Korra remained and she'd flinched and let the rock fall and herself fall with it. Opal was surprised, but she shouldn't have been. Korra had wanted so badly to negotiate with Kuvira; something had changed in the three years Opal hadn't seen the other woman. Opal's surprise should have been reserved for other things.

Korra, sluggish with regret, had ripped the rocks from the earth and agreed to fight. In the moment where Korra paused, haunted by whatever had happened to her three years ago, Opal found herself in a similar situation. Opal stepped forward, eyes on Korra and the rocks hovering above her head, Kuvira's broken form on the ground in her peripheral.

This was perhaps the moment that scared the Opal the most because she was hit so strongly with a brutal, foreign feeling. She couldn't recognize it as wanting Korra to stop, or wishing for her to hurry up and bring the rock down onto Kuvira. It didn't matter, in the end. When Korra fell so did the feeling, and Opal refused to honestly question it.

Things had happened too fast. Opal had no time to think about what had happened between her and Kuvira. Not that it even mattered, all she could focus on was the fact that Kuvira had taken Opal's mother and the only brothers she had left. Kuvira had also nearly decapitated Korra with sharpened blades of metal, forcing Opal and Jinora into action. Kuvira had then used their defence of Korra as an excuse to take Zaofu. Opal couldn't afford to think about the kiss or she'd lose her focus. Kuvira had to be stopped.

So, instead, she thought about Bolin. When Jinora and Ikki had grabbed Opal as she had called out to her family, sobbing and screaming, she hadn't seen him at Kuvira's side. Everyone looked the same in uniform but Kuvira had said that he wasn't there. If he had been Kuvira would've gloated so Opal believed it. However, Opal had to trust that Bolin wouldn't still stand by someone who had hurt Opal so much, even if Kuvira had suggested otherwise.

Kuvira had said that he was working with Baatar on something, but more importantly that he was on board with what she was doing. It had to be a lie. Kuvira had accused Opal of not knowing how Bolin had grown up since they'd been apart, something she must have inferred was an insecurity of Opal's, and perhaps Bolin's as well. Whether it was the truth or not it was unreasonably petty of her.

Opal was certain that that brand of cruelty wasn't beneath the Great Uniter, not when she'd taken almost everything Opal had ever loved. The few things left that Opal loved and that were still free had held Opal fast, not allowing her to jump down to her family, until she finally gave up with a yell that she would come back for them. Kuvira had taken her family, she'd taken Zaofu, she' taken everything. Opal was dull with grief. She'd cried and Ikki and Jinora had held her until she'd fallen asleep.

When she woke up later, it was dark out and Ikki was still holding her with her small, cold fingers. The sky was dark purple-grey, clouds wisped by them like spirits. Opal's eyes combed the horizon and found a small, pink sliver of sun. Ikki's body was warm but her hands were cool on Opal's aching forehead. She was too tired to tell Ikki how much she loved her.

Opal's eyes burned when she glanced around to find Jinora. She could barely see her in the darkness but Jinora's pose told Opal that she had projected herself somewhere and was communicating with someone. Her posture told Opal that she was worried. She wished Jinora didn't have to be, the girl already had too much pressure on her.

Opal found Korra in the twilight. She was struck with how good it was to see her again, even if they'd never really had time to catch up properly. Korra was sitting on the edge of Pepper, her legs no doubt dangling over. She was looking in the distance, quieter and more thoughtful than Opal had ever seen her. Opal wondered if she'd seen her friends since her return. She looked exhausted.

Meelo was quiet for once; silent but alert at the reigns of the bison. Opal didn't have the energy to guess or ask where he was taking them, and she wanted to continue to pretend to be asleep so that Ikki would comfort her still. Opal felt so alone but she felt so grateful to have them at her side even if she'd lost everything else.

**171 AG**

She'd spent the days following the dream avoiding Kuvira and trying not to let her know that she was avoiding her. It was even more embarrassing than the time she'd walked in on Kuvira and her friend having sex, which Opal got over relatively quickly when Kuvira seemed to not have noticed. This time, though Kuvira would have no way of knowing and it still wasn't Opal's fault, Opal felt guiltier and more awkward than ever before.

Whenever she saw Kuvira it just reminded her of that dream and Opal really didn't want to deal with the embarrassment she felt whenever that happened. However, it wasn't like she could evade Kuvira forever and one day when Opal was walking back from meeting with some friends Kuvira spotted her and called her over. Opal didn't want to insult her by running away. She stood stock still as Kuvira approached her, expression light.

"You've been avoiding me," the woman said, somewhat playfully.

"No I haven't," Opal said, but her blush told the truth. Opal hated being so transparent sometimes. Kuvira laughed awkwardly.

"Look," she said. "I know I'm older than you. If I've been bothering you, or pressuring you -"

"No!" Opal blurted. "That's not it!" Kuvira had never been inappropriate, if anyone had it had been Opal. Kuvira was definitely not the problem and Opal didn't want her to feel bad but there was no really good way of saying 'I had a dream where we kissed and whenever I see you I think about it'.

Kuvira watched her curiously and a little sadly. She didn't believe Opal. Opal clasped her hands together. "It's just a weird time," she explained. "The world almost ended because of what went on in Republic City. I just feel . . . off. It's not your fault." It wasn't totally a lie but it still made Opal feel bad. Opal didn't like lying but she'd hate telling Kuvira the entire truth even more.

"Well," Kuvira said, cautiously. "Do you want to practice today?" Opal smiled, relieved that even with all her awkwardness Kuvira still wanted to deal with her. Opal couldn't help but feel ashamed about the dream, thinking about a woman who had been nothing but kind to her in that way, but it was still just a dream and not totally under her control.

"Yeah," Opal grinned, and Kuvira's facial expression softened.

"I have some time free now, my shift isn't until later tonight," she said. Opal nodded eagerly. Kuvira smiled back and started walking, Opal following in silence. It was still kind of uncomfortable, but not  
as bad as Opal had thought it would be. At least Kuvira kind of bought her excuse, or chose to give up when she realized that Opal didn't actually want to avoid her.

It was still pretty embarrassing for Opal, though. She hadn't thought about Kuvira this way before, or she'd tried not to, or something like that. Dreams didn't mean anything, and Opal was the only one who was making it weird. Hanging out with Kuvira would make things normal again, and Opal wanted that more than anything right now.

Kuvira bended the tall, heavy doors open, and left them like that. Opal headed over to the record player in the corner of the room, putting on the song they'd been practicing. When there was no one else around they practiced in the main room; Opal hadn't wanted to at first because she couldn't see herself but Kuvira assured her dancing was easier when you weren't always studying yourself, and it was.

Light, from the lamps exterior to the building, was cast through the long windows that framed the room. It was enough for them to see, but it made the room look strange and dreamlike. Kuvira smiled a little, looking around the interior of the place. She quirked an eyebrow at Opal. "Do you want to use one of the back rooms?" she asked. There weren't any lamps in the main room. Opal shrugged.

"If you want to," she said. She didn't mind either way.

"I guess not," Kuvira said, begin to strip off her guard's uniform and pacing over to Opal. "We can see enough in here, and I don't think you need to practice with mirrors anymore." Opal ducked her head, smiling at the praise.

Opal tried to see if it reminded her of that dream and it didn't really. It was better this way; she couldn't really see Kuvira's face since most of it was obscured in shadows. The lights outside were quite bright, casting a yellow sheen on the floor. Kuvira also was wearing her guard's uniform and her braid was coiled up in a little bun. They'd danced in this room before, but it was all foreign enough to keep Opal's mind off that night, and off the dream.

Kuvira put her arms up and with that gesture they started dancing together. Since she'd been avoiding Kuvira, Opal hadn't been practicing and had gotten a little rusty, but she sprung back with surprising ease. Kuvira made a familiar motion that Opal mimicked as they circled each other. It felt good to dance with the metalbender again, relaxing back into the comfortable relationship that they shared.

Opal had been worried that she'd really offended Kuvira by avoiding her. She apparently hadn't, but she was glad that Kuvira had been cautious about pressuring Opal. Kuvira was ridiculously nice and patient but if she started acting weird Opal would be the first person to let her know, and Opal hoped she knew that. Even though Opal was shy, she wasn't a pushover, especially when she liked someone.

It was odd, but if Opal didn't like someone who was acting strange, she wouldn't bother with them. She expected better things from the people she did get along with, and even though she admired Kuvira Opal wouldn't let her do whatever she wanted. Kuvira had never crossed any boundary and while they danced together in the darkness and yellow lights of Zaofu Opal felt safe.

The movements of dancing had kicked some joy into her chest, and Opal was relieved that she could put those embarrassing moments and dreams behind her. But beneath those giddy feelings, there was something deeper, calmer. There was a huge difference between being safe and feeling safe and right now, dancing with Kuvira, Opal felt totally protected and calm. Kuvira suddenly paused dancing and Opal nearly walked into her.

"That's strange," Kuvira said. Opal stumbled a little and stopped dancing.

"What?" Opal asked. She thought she'd been dancing pretty well, all things considered.

"A breeze." Kuvira's brow furrowed as she glanced around. "The dome has been secured. I shouldn't feel any wind." She glanced behind her at the open door, Opal watched her. It didn't seem like there was any wind; the room was still.

"I didn't feel anything," Opal said. Kuvira glanced back and her and relented, shifting out of her guard posture. Kuvira, Opal had noticed, was never really off-duty. Even now, she was armed to the teeth, with ropes of metal still coiled around her waist, prepared for anything.

"I guess so," she said uneasily. "Again?" she asked. Opal nodded eagerly. She'd really gotten the hang of the dance Kuvira had taught her. It was still a lot more basic than the kind of dances Kuvira was used to, especially since it didn't involve bending, but Opal was still proud of how far she'd come.

Kuvira was teaching Opal a few more complex dances, but Kuvira had started moving the way she'd first taught Opal to since they hadn't danced together for awhile. Opal had refined some of the moves she'd learned and they came easier to her somehow after the time away from practice. Smoothly, her hands sliced through the air to pull at something unseen. She kept her movements as fluid as she could and soon had found the rhythm again. Kuvira stopped the dance.

"No, I swear I felt a breeze," she said, voice tense. "I'm sorry," she added, glancing at Opal. "There must be a breach in security." Opal nodded understandingly. "Except," Kuvira said, eyes narrowing on Opal. "Have you heard about the new airbenders?"

Opal nodded again. It was big news in Zaofu right now. Avatar Korra had left open the Spirit Portal created by Harmonic Convergence; this had somehow had the effect of awakening bending abilities dormant in many nonbenders. Kuvira stared at Opal until Opal understood what she was getting at. "No way," Opal sputtered.

"Try," Kuvira insisted. "Many of the dances we do in Zaofu include movements we use in bending. It would make sense if you bended accidentally."

"You better check for those breaches," Opal flushed. Kuvira looked regretfully at Opal. "I'll try, though," Opal assured her. Kuvira nodded, and lifting one hand she snapped her uniform on, becoming a professional guard again. She left Opal alone to look at her hands.

She'd felt the breeze the second time. Had it really come from her? Opal laughed. That was impossible. Opal wasn't a bender, much less an airbender. Still, she'd promised Kuvira she'd try, and it couldn't hurt. Much.

The last time Opal had tried to bend was when she was around eleven years old. It was the same day Wei and Wing demonstrated their own abilities; a celebratory meal had been made as was customary. Opal had crept away from the celebration and stood outside in the courtyard. She then mimicked all the bending movements she could think of for hours until her father found her, curled up and crying.

Her father picked her up, put her to bed, and told her exactly what she needed to hear that night. That the ability to bend didn't make someone a good person and that she was more than that ability. He reminded her that everyone in her family loved her and was proud of her and that no one would be disappointed if she was never able to bend. His kind words had helped a lot; she had never cried over bending since that day.

But perhaps that was why she'd always had such a problem with dancing. It had always felt as forced to her as when she'd tried bending. Still, even while Opal was honestly fine about never being able to bend now, it still hurt a little to try. But airbending, huh? It would be kind of cool if it was true.

She began to dance by herself in the room, trying to get comfortable in her body. What had Kuvira said about bending? Listening to your body . . . and finding a rhythm. Opal closed her eyes, and moved to the music, automatically. She concentrated her thoughts on the way her body felt, from her lungs, heart, and fingertips. Her heart beat louder in her ears and the music swelled.

Then she felt it. A wisp of movement on her palms. Opal gasped. She mimicked the movement she'd made. She felt it again. It was so little, but it was there, and when it faded Opal was too shocked to pick it up again. She could bend. She could airbend. Opal suddenly was holding in her hands power she hadn't known before, with no idea how to use it.

She heard Kuvira's footsteps outside the studio. "The dome is secure," Kuvira said, her voice echoing across the huge room, breathless. Her gaze fell on Opal's hands, which were shaking a little. Kuvira's mouth quirked in an awkward smile and she looked up at Opal's face with an expression that was both understanding and inquisitive. Opal realized it then. Things were going to change.


	16. Chapter 16

**174 AG**

When Opal had finally gathered her bearings she discovered that the bison Meelo was flying was Pepper, his own animal. She would've worried about Lefty but Kai's bison had trailed behind them and caught up by the time Opal woke up. She couldn't have helped him back in Zaofu and she was unbelievably grateful that he was alright. She didn't want to think that Kuvira's army would've hurt the bison if they'd discovered him in the stables, so she didn't.

It was pointless for Lefty to follow them if he could go back to Kai, but he seemed unwilling to deviate from the group. Opal offered to escort him back. Jinora insisted that Lefty could find his own way home; every bison was very intelligent and had a better internal map than most humans did. All the same, Lefty wouldn't budge from their side even though Opal _knew_ he wanted to be with his partner.

Opal understood why Jinora didn't want her to leave and even agreed with her reasoning. However, Opal was not going to pursue her family. Jinora, her siblings, and Korra were going back to Republic City; they weren't going to help free the Beifongs right away. Opal was just as passionate as her mother but she liked to think she wasn't as reckless; she'd wait until they would help her get her family back. She couldn't save them by herself.

Opal and the people who could help her were useless to each other in Republic City. Opal could do nothing for them and as long as they stayed in Republic City she would get no aid from them. It was just as well that she should be the one to coax Lefty back to the Northern Air Temple, and she wanted to spend some time with the bison anyway. She wanted to see Kai again.

Opal missed her own air bison as well. She and Kai would alternate between their bisons every mission for fairness and to let the bisons rest. It had been a few weeks since she'd seen Juicy. She was sure he'd be happy to see her too and be eager to help. That was one defined quality of Juicy, other than his weepy immune system; he wanted to help more than anyone, human or animal.

Korra eventually convinced Jinora to let Opal go with Lefty. She was apologetic; she hadn't intended to lose at Zaofu. Opal never blamed her, she'd just been surprised. She realized now that she shouldn't have been; Zaheer had hurt Korra immeasurably and had put the girl out of commission for three years. She shouldn't have expected Korra to fix everything all at once, but Opal still held faith that Korra would eventually be able to.

Opal broke off from the group, loaded with a few lunches Pema had prepared for her children and the promise to return to Republic City after Lefty was back with Kai. When Opal was securely on his back, Lefty started moving automatically in the direction of the Northern Air Temple, he already knew the way. Opal let Lefty fly by himself, turning around and folding her arms.

She watched the skies glumly as the cold wind whipped her skin. She was still aching from the events at Zaofu. She hoped her family was alright. She didn't like to think that Kuvira would hurt them, but she never thought Kuvira would ever do such a thing in the first place so Opal couldn't say for sure.

She knew her family was resilient though, even the meeker members like her father and Huan. They were all strong, and she knew her mother would protect them all and bear the brunt of any pain inflicted on them. Thinking like that made Opal feel sick with worry so she turned around and dug her face into the soft fur on Lefty's head, hugging him.

Through bison's thick down Opal noticed something snaking beneath them through the trees. She propped herself up and peered over Lefty. Something silver and thin shone in the forests below them. Opal's fingers gripped the bison's fur. It was Kuvira's train. It was heading in the same direction as they were, so for awhile Opal had an excuse to follow them as she pretended that she wasn't.

When the train finally slipped off into the distance Opal had to admit to herself that she'd been pursuing it. They'd followed it for a few kilometres but it was too fast for them. Reluctantly, she righted Lefty's course. They hadn't deviated too far from the direction they'd been heading in anyway.

Opal had to remind herself of the goal, the Northern Air Temple. Juicy, Kai. Korra would help bring down Kuvira eventually, people would help Opal get her family free. She couldn't let it get personal. But it was personal and beneath her Opal realized the train had paused. Kuvira had stopped for some reason and as Opal and Lefty passed overhead she realized she had to make a decision.

Lefty had kept true to his course, flying over the train, but listened when Opal signalled him to land. They settled on the ground somewhere within the forest next to the train. She could see the glint of metal through the trees but they wouldn't notice her unless they were really looking.

Opal couldn't help but wonder if Bolin was on that train. She knew Kuvira was. Anger suddenly flushed through her body. They had just left Zaofu like nothing had happened. She wanted to find Kuvira and give her a piece of her mind. But . . . she'd made a promise. Disappointment replaced her anger and welled thick in her throat. She'd have to let Kuvira go.

"Come on, Lefty," she said reluctantly. She pulled herself back onto the bison. As much as she wanted to pursue Kuvira, she'd told everyone that she'd go to the Northern Air Temple. There probably wasn't a lot she could've achieved by confronting Kuvira anyway. She looked at the train and kicked her heels. Lefty didn't move. Confused, she got off the bison and walked over to his head.

"Come on Lefty," she insisted. He could sense that she didn't want to leave, but he needed to go back to Kai. "Lefty," she said. "Let's go." The bison snorted derisively. He was every bit as stubborn and insightful as his owner. The bison took to the air, hovering above the ground. They both knew he could fly back to Kai with his eyes closed. He'd wanted to go with Opal, just as she'd wanted to go with him, but she needed to confront Kuvira and he could tell.

"Thank you," she said. Sometimes she felt silly, talking to animals, but other times she knew it was perfectly justified. Kuvira was down there somewhere and Opal couldn't just let her slip through her fingers. Not again. She watched Lefty fly off past the trees in the same direction they'd been heading before she turned and started running.

She wasn't thinking about what she was going to do, she just knew that she had to do something. She hunted through the trees, taking care that no one would notice her. It seemed like there was a town past the forest that Kuvira's army was either loading supplies from or unloading them to. It didn't matter.

This was a pointless risk and Opal wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. Kuvira, Bolin, or her brother; she had something to say to each of them, but in all honesty she wanted to see Kuvira the most. Bolin had been kept in the dark, and Baatar had been manipulated, but Kuvira was the one who had started it all. When she spotted Kuvira she stopped in her tracks.

Kuvira was by herself, each hand clasping the opposite elbow, thinking to herself. Opal looked around. They stood at a pretty far distance from the train, and Kuvira's people were busy doing whatever she'd told them to do and Opal hadn't noticed them nearby. She stepped out into the clearing. Kuvira looked surprised when she saw Opal.

"Opal," Kuvira began to speak but Opal opened her palms towards Kuvira and blasted her with all the force she could muster. Kuvira dodged the wind easily and immediately became all business. Bands of metal snapped off of Kuvira's arms and she sent them flying at Opal, trying to catch her arms or legs. Opal missed them in the way she'd learned to at the Northern Air Temple. She kept her feet light and kicked up a gust of air, sending it to whip at Kuvira.

Kuvira leapt out of the way of another flare of wind and hid herself behind a tree. "I don't want to fight you, Opal," she warned in a low voice. Kuvira was one of the greatest benders Opal had ever seen but Opal wasn't so bad herself and she had a greater incentive to win.

"It's too late for that," Opal called back. Gathering air into a giant ball in her hands, she sent it rolling towards Kuvira. Kuvira moved out from behind the tree, which took the blunt of the blast. Kuvira sent more metal sailing in Opal's direction but the airbender's attack had made her stumble and the bands clattered off course.

"Not bad," Kuvira said patronizingly, her hair hanging in her face, dishevelled. When Korra had started airbending she'd knocked Kuvira clear across the field. Opal wasn't at Korra's level, even out of the Avatar state, but she could hold her own. Kuvira's condescension only served to get her more riled up.

Kuvira had her entire family, the people Opal cared about the most. And now she dared to fight Opal as though Opal had struck the first blow. The Air Nomads were a peaceful people, and Opal could swear as many oaths as she wanted, but Jinora would never be able to understand this situation. This was personal.

Opal knew Kuvira wasn't fighting Opal with her full ability and that just made her more furious. She was holding back, as if she gave a damn about hurting Opal. Opal's hands moved rapidly, collecting air into a small tornado around her. She sent the storm crashing into Kuvira, throwing the woman's body against the trees. Opal didn't care if she got caught anymore. She wanted Kuvira to feel the pain she felt.

Kuvira got up, blowing her hair out of her face. Her eyes were angry and she quickly sent a metal band to catch Opal's foot and pull her up into the air. Opal panicked but kept collecting air and sent a blast through the trees, breaking Kuvira's concentration long enough for Opal to fall out of her grip. They both rested on the ground for a moment, aching and covered in dust.

"I'm sorry I took your family Opal," Kuvira said. "But your mother tried to kill me."

"Because you tried to take our city!" Opal yelled, getting to her feet.

"If you'd just surrendered in the first place none of this would have happened," Kuvira replied, shaking her hair clean of dirt. Is that really how Kuvira saw it? If they all just rolled over and accepted Kuvira she wouldn't have taken the Beifongs prisoner, wouldn't have tried to kill the Avatar; she would have happily claimed her empire unimpeded. She really thought that if they stopped resisting she'd have their consent. Opal's hands moved on their own.

Opal gripped the air in Kuvira's lungs and tugged, lightly at first, then all at once. Kuvira gasped on nothing, eyes wild with panic, and Opal clutched tighter on her breath. Kuvira got to her feet, advancing towards Opal but Opal ran, expanding the vacuum around Kuvira's head. By the time Kuvira caught up to Opal, she was stumbling slightly. She tried summoning a sheet of metal to her hand and it rose in the air before clattering to the ground.

Opal kept on pulling on Kuvira's breath like it was a stray thread from an otherwise tightly woven piece of clothing. She pulled until she felt like she could hear the last few breaths left in Kuvira's lungs abandon her to join the whirlwind that was collecting in Opal's hands. Opal's palms were wet and warm. It felt like blood.

Kuvira fell to her knees, hands grasping at Opal's clothes, lips turning blue. The woman's eyes were fluttering as she reached for Opal's hands, too weak to pull them apart. Kuvira gave up on fighting and just pulled on Opal's clothes, gasping a deep, hollow sound. She blurred in Opal's vision, and Opal realized dimly that she was crying. Tears were hot on her cheeks as she watched Kuvira desperately fighting for air. Opal's hands trembled and she let go. Kuvira sagged against her, gasping.

Tears were falling freely now and Opal desperately wiped her cheeks. Kuvira's head rested on her stomach and she could feel the woman panting against her as she cried. She'd almost become a murderer. Opal wrapped her arms around Kuvira's head, trying to hold back her sobs. "I'm sorry," she choked out. Kuvira's arms circled Opal's waist as she continued to chase her breath. "I didn't know I could do that," Opal whimpered, holding onto Kuvira like she was trying to tie her to the world.

"You're a powerful bender," Kuvira spoke up, voice hoarse and eyes still fluttering. On shaking legs Kuvira got to her feet, still holding onto Opal for support. In that moment Opal hadn't been thinking, had been drunk on power, had almost been delighted to see Kuvira on her knees. Opal was horrified. Kuvira stroked her back soothingly as she swayed. "Maybe, if you had been a metalbender, you'd have been able to beat me."

"What?" Opal asked, looking up at the taller woman. Within seconds, a sheet of Kuvira's metal had snapped onto Opal's wrists and Kuvira had ducked an arm around Opal's leg, hoisting her into the air.

"Kuvira!" Opal yelled, panicking. Kuvira said nothing; she simply hefted Opal into a more comfortable position closer to her chest. "Let me go!" Again, Kuvira didn't respond. Opal's hands were bound together, and while Opal was busy assessing her situation Kuvira bended another metal band to connect her feet.

Opal couldn't fight, couldn't bend, and Kuvira who'd nearly died not a minute ago was carrying her like she weighed nothing. The fear was real, but Opal found it turning into anger and desperation. "You have work camps," Opal hissed. "You tried to kill Korra. You have my mother and the rest of my family at your mercy; you corrupted my brother and my boyfriend. I don't regret hurting you!" Kuvira didn't look like she'd noticed. Opal felt helplessness take over her, making her feel far weaker than being physically restrained did.

She struggled to keep the tears in her eyes, furiously glaring three inches to the side of Kuvira's face. "Let me go," she added, brokenly. Kuvira looked down at Opal with something like grim regret as she carried her.

"I'm sorry," Kuvira said at last, her voice still hoarse.

"Your feelings," Opal said, getting angry again, voice shaking with rage. "If they're even real, are not worth anything!" If Kuvira was sorry she'd let Opal go, she'd let everyone go, but she didn't. Opal wriggled in Kuvira's grasp and Kuvira sighed, annoyed. Opal had to keep angry, or she was going to fall apart with fear.

Binding her with metal, Kuvira had found a way to stop Opal from airbending as well as fighting physically. Opal doubted it would be a fair fight either way but Kuvira had taken away that option. Kuvira was good at taking away options until there was no other choice but to obey. Opal was not going to make it pleasant for her.

Continuing to wriggle and fight pissed Kuvira off, but the older woman was about as strong as the Avatar herself so she kept a pretty good grasp on Opal. "I hate you," Opal said as a last resort. "I know," Kuvira said, hefting Opal's weight in her arms. Her tone seemed blameless.


End file.
